Tolkien fanfic writer sues Tolkien estate over copyright

[Deset Gled]

I'm a little disheartened everyone's siding with the Tolkien estate, ironically.

I mean, the literary quality of this looks pretty bad, and this is the next dumbest thing to suing Disney over your Mickey Mouse fanfiction. Fine. Still, stuff like LOTR and Star Wars are the Iliad, Ramayana, and Romance of Three Kingdoms of our day, and they're held up by a bunch of heirs and a lawyers. I'm fine with Tolkien never needing to work again off this stuff, but his great-grandkids? J.R.R's been dead 50 years.

I think the duration of copyright is way out of control.

I think tipping in the USA is out of hand. Prices on a menu should be the price I pay for food. But I still tip my server at least 20%, because I understand that not tipping does nothing but screw over the person who has the least control over the situation. If I see someone who refuses to tip their server out of "principle", I can understand the argument, but I never consider that person some sort of activist. IMNSHO, they're just a jerk who wants to save some cash.

I think that copyright law could use some revisions. It's a system with flaws. But this guy isn't fighting for any type of change or reform. He's the guy who doesn't tip. There's nothing here truly being done out of principle, and he's not an activist. IMNSHO, he's just a guy who tried to make a cash grab with a lawsuit, and lost. Badly.

TLDR; You gotta pick your battles, and this ain't it.

 

[Staffan]

I'm a little disheartened everyone's siding with the Tolkien estate, ironically.

I mean, the literary quality of this looks pretty bad, and this is the next dumbest thing to suing Disney over your Mickey Mouse fanfiction. Fine. Still, stuff like LOTR and Star Wars are the Iliad, Ramayana, and Romance of Three Kingdoms of our day, and they're held up by a bunch of heirs and a lawyers. I'm fine with Tolkien never needing to work again off this stuff, but his great-grandkids? J.R.R's been dead 50 years.

I think the duration of copyright is way out of control.

Like I said, in a more well-built world he should have been able to sell his Tolkien fanfic, just like both the BBC, CBS, and Fox can make money from their Sherlock Holmes fanfic. After a certain number of years, it should be part of the cultural commons. But then suing the Tolkien estate and/or Amazon because something in Rings of Power had some slight similarity to your fanfic? Now that takes balls.

Christopher Tolkien was still actively publishing books based on his father's works and notes just five years ago. I'd say the property is very much alive.

I'm perfectly fine with Christopher Tolkien having made money from his own works based on his father's works and notes. I'm less fine with him having had a monopoly on it.

 

[Dire Bare]

I'm a little disheartened everyone's siding with the Tolkien estate, ironically.

I mean, the literary quality of this looks pretty bad, and this is the next dumbest thing to suing Disney over your Mickey Mouse fanfiction. Fine. Still, stuff like LOTR and Star Wars are the Iliad, Ramayana, and Romance of Three Kingdoms of our day, and they're held up by a bunch of heirs and a lawyers. I'm fine with Tolkien never needing to work again off this stuff, but his great-grandkids? J.R.R's been dead 50 years.

I think the duration of copyright is way out of control.

The fanfic author in question didn't write a story simply inspired by Lord of the Rings, he wrote a sequel to the story using the world and characters of Tolkien's work directly. Which is fine, I've got no problem with fanfic. His mistake was to, 1) charge money without a license, and 2) find the entitlement to sue the Tolkien estate for copyright infringement. There is no planet where this guy is the scrappy underdog we should all root for. The fact that his book is awful isn't really relevant, but doesn't help garner any sympathy.

Is copyright law too burdensome? Should folks be allowed to write fanfic and charge for it without a license? Those are good questions to debate. This guy is still in the wrong and the Tolkien estate was right to slap him down hard legally.

I actually feel bad for the author, as he is clearly a ring or two short of a full set of the "rings of power". The guy is dealing with mental health issues, and instead of help, all he will be getting is mockery.

 

[Dioltach]

I actually feel bad for the author, as he is clearly a ring or two short of a full set of the "rings of power". The guy is dealing with mental health issues, and instead of help, all he will be getting is mockery.

Where do you get that he has mental health issues? Because so far all I've seen is entitlement and self-importance. "Demetrious Polychron", seriously?

Although I'll admit he has more nerve than I'd ever have

 

[Dire Bare]

Where do you get that he has mental health issues? Because so far all I've seen is entitlement and self-importance. "Demetrious Polychron", seriously?

Although I'll admit he has more nerve than I'd ever have

• His terrible novel that he seems to think is an epic.
• His choice of pen name.
• His decision to charge for his fanfic.
• His decision to sue the Tolkien estate.

He definitely suffers from being self-important and entitled, to the point of delusion. I'm not trying to diagnose anything specifically, but dude clearly isn't playing with a full deck.

 

[Sepulchrave II]

• His terrible novel that he seems to think is an epic.
• His choice of pen name.
• His decision to charge for his fanfic.
• His decision to sue the Tolkien estate.

He definitely suffers from being self-important and entitled, to the point of delusion. I'm not trying to diagnose anything specifically, but dude clearly isn't playing with a full deck.

He doesn't seem to be a rational actor in this.

The legal docket is here: https://dockets.justia.com/docket/california/cacdce/2:2023cv02831/881511

He is represented by this lawyer: https://lawyers.justia.com/search?query=Katie+Marie+Charleston&match=any

Both are matters of public record. I do wonder about the lawyer - taking on a case like this doesn't seem terribly edifying.

 

[John R Davis]

I kinda like the premise! The east could do with a bit more examining

 

[Paul Farquhar]

• His terrible novel that he seems to think is an epic.
• His choice of pen name.
• His decision to charge for his fanfic.
• His decision to sue the Tolkien estate.

He definitely suffers from being self-important and entitled, to the point of delusion. I'm not trying to diagnose anything specifically, but dude clearly isn't playing with a full deck.

Plenty of people manage to be really really dumb without mental illness.

 

[jeffh]

Intellectual property that is not defended, can lose that status for the creator.

Trademarks can. This would be primarily a matter of copyright, for which this isn't true.

 

[Dire Bare]

Plenty of people manage to be really really dumb without mental illness.

I disagree, dude doesn't come across as dumb, but mentally ill.

But either way, dumb or mental, his mental state isn't entirely within his control. And I find it sad that he's in for a lot of mockery and very little help.