LOTR Online Slots in Legal Crossfire

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Though there is no official word from Microgaming, the release of the online slot games based on the second and third parts of The Lord of the Rings Trilogy could have been held up because of a law suit against Warner Brothers. Online casino players will recall that in 2010 Microgaming has announced three branded slots under license from Warner Brothers based on the Hollywood blockbuster movies, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. The first part titled The Fellowship of the Ring was released in 2010, after which there has been neither release nor any announcement from Microgaming.

According to press reports it now appears that HarperCollins and the estate of J.R.R. Tolkien have filed an $80 million dollar lawsuit against Warner Brothers, which through its New Line Cinema subsidiary Saul Zentz Company holds the rights to The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings films. The lawsuit claims that Warner Brothers have breached the terms and conditions of the original contract that awarded them limited rights. The 1969 contract sold the film rights to Warner Brothers along with limited merchandising rights related to articles of tangible personal property. Non-tangible property such as electronic, digital, media and service rights were not covered in the original contract according to the estate of Tolkien. Therefore Warner Brothers licensing online slot games to Microgaming violate the contract as claimed in the lawsuit.

The online gambling games based on The Lord of the Rings are highlighted in the law suit. Tolkien’s estate finds this “highly offensive” and states that the slot games have caused fans “confusion and consternation at seeing The Lord of the Rings associated with the morally-questionable (and decidedly non-literary) world of online and casino gambling.” Ultimately the law suit will become a battle over who controls the iconography of The Lord of the Rings. The estate is fighting to maintain the dominance and purity of the book, whereas Warner Brothers want to exploit the movie and maximize profits from merchandizing it. After all they have not only paid for the rights for the movie but a share of profits as well. According to The Hollywood Reporter Warner Brothers paid 7.5 percent of their profits to the Tolkien Estate in an out of court settlement.

This suit has been filed at a time when it will hit Warner Brothers the most. Its film, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is expected to be released very soon. Any merchandising strategies based on video games, Facebook pages and trademarks on hotels, restaurants, travel agencies, ringtones, online games and housing developments will not be allowed in all likelihood. And it could be a long wait for online casino players for the remaining Microgaming online slot games based on The Lord of the Rings.

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