Tag: trademark law

Trademark Law: Cashing in on Hobbits – Fair Game or Foul Play?

trademark lawThe hugely successful movie franchise, The Lord of the Rings, picks up again when director Peter Jackson releases The Hobbit on December 14th, 2012.  The profitability of the movies and all things related to Middle Earth are not lost on others looking to ride the momentum created by the new release.  Global Asylum is a movie production company that specializes in “mockbusters”, low-budget movies that have similar titles and storylines to blockbuster movies and are released around the same time. This time around, Global Asylum intends to cash in on The Hobbit frenzy by releasing a film entitled Age of the Hobbits, three days before the release of the Jackson film (see story). So what’s the deal with these mockbusters? Is this fair game or foul play? Trademark law may be the deciding voice.

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