LotR
Author of 'The Lord of the Rings' fanfic must pay $134,000 to Tolkien Estate
Amazon and the Tolkien Estate win lawsuit against author of ‘Lord of the Rings’ spin-off book who sued them for copying ‘The Rings of Power.
Demetrious Polychron’s story is another example of how reality sometimes trumps fiction. Back in 2017, Polychron registered the rights to The Fellowship of the King, his own fanfic based on the Lord of the Rings universe (and rated just 1.5 on Goodreads), in order to market it. But not content with that, the author sent a letter to Simon Tolkien, the head of the Tolkien Estate, the organization run by JRR Tolkien’s children and grandchildren that manages the author’s work and estate, asking for his opinion on the book. Brave man that he is.
Polychron was fortunate that Simon Tolkien did not answer him, but instead of withdrawing in time, he continued to insist and even hired a lawyer in 2019. With what intention? To officially contact the Tolkien Estate to show them his manuscript and to offer them a collaboration. He was politely rebuffed, and the author, far from giving up his efforts, began sending manuscripts to Simon’s house and to other members of the organization. When he continued to receive no response, Polychron grew impatient and announced that he intended to self-publish “The Fellowship of the King” and up to six more books in the series.
This is where things get complicated, as Polychron’s book was published in September 2022, around the same time as the first season of The Rings of Power. Overshadowed, the author felt that the series had stolen ideas from manuscripts shared with the Tolkien Estate and sued Amazon for $250 million. David versus Goliath. And of course Amazon was ready to respond and fight the matter in court.
The result of the trial has come to light (via BBC), where it is reported that the judge ruled against Polychron, which he called “frivolous and unreasonably filed.” The verdict ensures that what happened is exactly the opposite, that the show does not infringe the copyright of his fanfic, but that the author does infringe the copyright of Amazon’s production. From now on, all sales of ‘The Fellowship of the King’ must stop, future installments must be canceled, and Polychron must pay $134,000 to the Tolkien Estate and Amazon as fees for the entire legal process in which they were immersed.
“This is an important success for the Tolkien Estate, which will not permit unauthorised authors and publishers to monetise JRR Tolkien’s much-loved works in this way,” said Steven Maier, attorney for the Tolkien Estate, following the judge’s ruling. “This case involved a serious infringement of The Lord of the Rings copyright, undertaken on a commercial basis, and the estate hopes that the award of a permanent injunction and attorneys’ fees will be sufficient to dissuade others who may have similar intentions.”