boggit
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Posts: 15
Joined: Thu 01 Oct 2020, 10:47

License limitations

Thu 14 Jul 2022, 12:31

Hi everyone!

I heard somewhere, though I cannot seem to find the source right now, that the Middle-Earth license held by Free League disallows any sort of material not directly based upon The Hobbit and/or Lord of the Rings.

Is this really true, and if so, could someone expand on exactly what these limitations encompass?
 
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HunterGreen
Posts: 183
Joined: Fri 12 Jun 2020, 14:59

Re: License limitations

Thu 14 Jul 2022, 12:57

The only licenses Tolkien sold in his time covered The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings so this limitation applies to everything out there, all the movies and the games and so on, with the sole exception of the new Amazon series that was licensed more recently (after the passing of Christopher Tolkien). The Appendices offer a lot of details though, so much of what is covered in other works can be mentioned, but there are odd gaps. For instance, the appendices mention Sauron's playing a part in the forging of the Rings of Power by taking on the persona of the Lord of Gifts, but they do not mention the actual name, Annatar, that he used in that time, so you can refer to the events but not the name itself.
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boggit
Topic Author
Posts: 15
Joined: Thu 01 Oct 2020, 10:47

Re: License limitations

Thu 14 Jul 2022, 13:16

Excellent, thank you!

What about FL making up new stuff (for, say, a fourth age campaign), as opposed to using names and concepts from other Tolkien writings?
 
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Vader
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Re: License limitations

Thu 14 Jul 2022, 16:28

Excellent, thank you!

What about FL making up new stuff (for, say, a fourth age campaign), as opposed to using names and concepts from other Tolkien writings?

Ought not to be a problem.

The limitation is that the licensee is not allowed to use any material created by Tolkien from any source other than Hobbit or LotR.

The licensee is not obligated to stick only to material created by Tolkien (as we could see, to our detriment, in the Peter Jackson movies).

There should thus be no provision that would forbid Ligan to embellish, embroider, or expand the premise to their hearts' content with material of their own invention.

But, as we all know: with great power comes great responsibility. We hope Ligan uses it wisely; here, and elsewhere...
Before you use the word "XENOMORPH" again, you should read this article through:

https://www.wired.co.uk/article/aliens-throwaway-line-confusion

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