How long should we wait until Tolkien's legacy becomes public domain? Or will it never happen due to trademarks? Who exactly owns the rights to the world of Middle-earth, and why is 'The Rings of Power' considered Amazon's fan-fiction?

In this episode of #Copycast, IP lawyers Victor and Anton explore the world of intellectual property rights to the universe of Tolkien.

Key moments:

00:00 - Go!

00:53 - Why Tolkien's books are not in public domain

02:23 - It's not easy to calculate when copyrights to LOTR will expire

06:10 - Who owns copyrights to the Tolkien's legacy  

06:41 - The Tolkien Estate

07:38 - The first copyrights deal and The Middle-earth Enterprises

10:16 - When you should get license from The Tolkien Estate, and when from The Middle-earth Enterprises

12:50 - Trademarks to rule them all

15:29 - The Middle-earth Enterprises against Dungeons & Dragons

17:49 - How a license changed gods

19:56 - Amazon and The Rings of Power

21:25 - What Amazon owns exactly

24:42 - What's wrong with the official story about the deal between Amazon and The Tolkien Estate

Video:https://youtu.be/eIkB8H9-dKk