Very OT: Lord of the Rings

[pippin_999]

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at y..., "catorman" <catherine at c...> wrote:
> --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at y..., "sineadsiobhan" <sinead at b...> 
wrote:
> > I remember in the chat we were talking about how Tolkien 
would have 
> not 
> > liked the movie made. I know dead people don't have rights 
but do 
> their 
> > relatives have rights as well? 
> 
>snip summary of copyright law 
> 
> Did JRRT's son sell the movie rights?  He could have 
approved the 
> film in theory, but not have negotiated such a good deal as JKR 
and 
> therefore not had as much input into the adaptation itself.
> 

I'm sure we'll hear from intellectual property lawyer Heidi on this. 
But Tolkien himself sold the movie rights back in 1969, when he 
was still alive (naturally). AFAIK he did not retain any residual 
rights or rights of approval over the finished product. He did not 
think any film maker could do justice to the story, or convey  his 
artistry, and so did not wish to be associated with the project. 

Pippin