Jump to content
Join the Unexplained Mysteries community today! It's free and setting up an account only takes a moment.
- Sign In or Create Account -

Lord of the Rings tells Brighton bin firm to change name


Still Waters

Recommended Posts

A waste collection firm in Brighton has been told by lawyers for the Lord of the Rings franchise to change its name.

Lord of the Bins collects household, building and office waste across East Sussex and West Sussex.

Nick Lockwood and Dan Walker, who run the company, said they were contacted by Middle-earth Enterprises, who own the worldwide rights to The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

The pair said they faced the prospect of spending thousands to rebrand.

"Middle-earth Enterprises has sent and is enforcing a cease and desist, claiming we're in breach of their trademarks," Mr Lockwood said.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-64519500

  • Like 1
  • Confused 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

 
2 hours ago, Still Waters said:

A waste collection firm in Brighton has been told by lawyers for the Lord of the Rings franchise to change its name.

Lord of the Bins collects household, building and office waste across East Sussex and West Sussex.

Nick Lockwood and Dan Walker, who run the company, said they were contacted by Middle-earth Enterprises, who own the worldwide rights to The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

The pair said they faced the prospect of spending thousands to rebrand.

"Middle-earth Enterprises has sent and is enforcing a cease and desist, claiming we're in breach of their trademarks," Mr Lockwood said.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-64519500

I hope Middle-earth Enterprises will remember Lord of the Flies.

 

  • Haha 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Interesting. The Tolkien Estate owns the copyright for images, etc of JR Tolkien's work. A simple Google search would tell you you can't use them without permission.

This pub fell foul of them:Hobbit pub in Southampton threatened with legal action - BBC News

Middle-Earth must be a company exclusively representing the films.

The Hobbit Pub was supported by some people in the entertainment industry (incl. Stephen Fry) who helped with legal costs. It is still trading under the Hobbit name so must have had a licence arrangement.

Edit: there is a bit more on the ownership here:Middle-earth Enterprises - Wikipedia

Edited by pellinore
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 minutes ago, pellinore said:

Why is that relevant?

Lord of the <insert word>, with Lord of the Bins being in the question.

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 minutes ago, bmk1245 said:

Lord of the <insert word>, with Lord of the Bins being in the question.

They could try to claim their name was based on that novel? I don't think that would work as the writing they use is the same as in the LOTR films and books.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 minutes ago, pellinore said:

They could try to claim their name was based on that novel? I don't think that would work as the writing they use is the same as in the LOTR films and books.

You mean fonts? Well... Sakartvelians (Georgians) can claim that Tengwar resembles Georgian scripts...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I really dont see how they can stop them using that name , there's a lot of names that start off with " Lord of the" . I mean there's some similiarity in the beginning , but " bins" aint got nothin to do with middle earth otherwise.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, razman said:

I really dont see how they can stop them using that name , there's a lot of names that start off with " Lord of the" . I mean there's some similiarity in the beginning , but " bins" aint got nothin to do with middle earth otherwise.

To be fair, their use of fonts, and 'One ring to remove it all'

_128515364_lordofthebins.jpg.webp

Though telling bussiness to change their name is absurdly stupid.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

26 minutes ago, bmk1245 said:

To be fair, their use of fonts, and 'One ring to remove it all'

_128515364_lordofthebins.jpg.webp

Though telling bussiness to change their name is absurdly stupid.

Oh i see , there was more to it , yea that as a whole i can see as an issue.

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 minutes ago, razman said:

Oh i see , there was more to it , yea that as a whole i can see as an issue.

Its an issue from IP holders, but I think that use of "The Lord of the Rings" similarity could bolster new folks into "The Lord of the Rings" franchize, unless "The Lord of the Rings" IP holders have bussiness in garbage disposal.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, pellinore said:

Why is that relevant?

Because Tolkien may have been inspired by this "Lord of the Flies" or "Beelzebub".

Like William Golding was.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 
1 hour ago, Abramelin said:

Because Tolkien may have been inspired by this "Lord of the Flies" or "Beelzebub".

Like William Golding was.

Well, published dates are close enough, TLOTR having head start.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes, I can see how people might get confused and that it’s potentially taking away business from their own garbage firm - people might get it confuses with the Rings of Power for example, although one takes rubbish from your home, the other tries to pump it in.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Here when one registers a business there is a search done by the registry to see if there are copyright infringements before issuing a licence

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 hours ago, bmk1245 said:

Well, published dates are close enough, TLOTR having head start.

"Beelzebub" or "Lord of the Flies" is a bit older than the 1st half of the 20th century, heh.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, bmk1245 said:

I got info from wiki:

Lord of the Flies - publication date 17 September 1954;

LOTR (The Fellowship of the Ring) - publication date 29 July 1954.

Its possible dates are wrong.

Yes, I know about those publishing dates, but the name "Beelzebub" or "Lord of the Flies" is truelly ancient.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.