Despite Tolkien to their lawyers, Middle-earth is not lord of the courtroom
It turns out the words “Lord of the” are … precious cargo. But even if you have the one enterprise to rule them all, it does not simply stop others from using the phrase.
This week, Australian vegan hamburger chain Lord of the Fries defeated the rights holder of the Lord of the Rings book and screen franchise in a dispute over the three words they both share in their name.
A Lord of the Fries outlet at Melbourne’s Southern Cross Station.Credit: Paul Rovere
US-based company Middle-earth Enterprises LLC, formerly known as Tolkien Enterprises, contested an application by the Melbourne-based fast food company to trademark the words “Lord of the”.
In its bid to block the fast food chain using the phrase, Middle-earth Enterprises noted that it had previously defeated other attempts to trademark business names with “Lord of the”, including Lord of the Wings, which Trade Marks registrar delegate Nicholas Smith said in his ruling had “a much greater visual and phonetic similarity” than Lord of the Fries.
In Australia, disputes over intellectual property such as business names are decided under the 1995 Trade Marks Act.
The Lord of the Fries decision was made by the registrar of trademarks within the federal government agency, IP Australia.
Middle-earth Enterprises holds the intellectual property rights and merchandising rights to the epic fantasy novels known as The Lord of the Rings by British author J.R.R. Tolkien.
As well as the hugely successful movies of the early 2000s, The Lord of the Rings is licensed for board games, clothing, toys, foods and video games, among other things, Middle-earth Enterprises said.
Lord of the Fries opened in 2004 and has, according to its defence, a “distinct niche as a convenient, vegan fast food restaurant that operates in an entirely different reputation” to that of Middle-earth Enterprises.
