Stella Roberts, 41, the landlady, said: “The pub has been called The
Hobbit for more than 20 years and it has never been a problem.
“I believe the decision to target us now was prompted by the release of
the film.
“We have been told that absolutely everything to do with the Lord of the
Rings and The Hobbit must go,” she said.
“We just haven’t got the resources to fight it.”
Angry locals have dubbed the battle “hobbits versus orcs”, in
reference to a celebrated scene from the Lords of The Rings trilogy.
The US company’s website says: “Middle-earth Enterprises owns exclusive
worldwide rights to motion picture, merchandising, stage and other rights in
certain literary works of JRR Tolkien, including The Lord of the Rings and
The Hobbit.
(PA)
“We have produced and licensed films, stage productions and merchandise
based on these Tolkien works for more than 35 years.”
A spokesman for Edward Wildman Group solicitors, who are acting on behalf of
The Saul Zaentz Company, said their clients would not be commenting.
The first of The Hobbit films, a prequel to Jackson’s Oscar-winning Lord of
the Rings trilogy, is due for release in December.
Fry plays the Master of Laketown.
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