Another one bites the dust....

[davem]

Originally Posted by Inziladun

Well, you could also say Grey Havens and The Shire ought to be open use, since they too have meanings outside the realm of Tolkien. But why use names like that, unless the Tolkien connection (and accompanying publicity) is what you're aiming for?

So they should - you cannot legally appropriate standard English words & then prevent people using them. The idea that an author could take a word in everyday use & then stop anyone else using that word because the public might make some connection between their use of the word and someone else's is a nightmare scenario. Tolkien actually 'profited' in the same way by his use of Elf, Dwarf, Goblin, Dragon, (not to mention Shire - used purely because of its 'English' connotations & Mirkwood - used because of its Germanic ones). If Tolkien hadn't wanted people to profit from the name Shire he shouldn't have used it, & made up a name of his own for the Hobbits' homeland.