If you have a second, you might like to "Like" http://www.facebook.com/SaveTheHobbitSouthampton and spread the word. It's just a little 20 year old pub in Southampton but of course now there's a film coming out, Shylock wants his pound of flesh and has written demanding they stop using the name as some US assholes own all the worldwide rights. BBC article They're trying to get it trending on Twitter too.

If you have a second, you might like to "Like" http://www.facebook.com/SaveTheHobbitSouthampton and spread the word. It's just a little 20 year old pub in Southampton but of course now there's a film coming out, Shylock wants his pound of flesh and has written demanding they stop using the name as some US assholes own all the worldwide rights. BBC article They're trying to get it trending on Twitter too.

WOuld they not get told to bugger off on 'prior use' grounds?

Read the BBC article and then see if the pub has broken any copyright issues (on their signage for instance).

They possibly have but a bunch of big booted lawyers from the US stomping all over them doesn't do Saul Zaentz any favours in the eyes of Joe Public. Many many better ways to have resolved this.

Its another one of those "shrugs shoulders" moments - try opening a pub called "McDonalds", use their logo and dress your staff up as Ronald McDonald and see how long it takes for the big booted lawyers to deliver a writ to your door.

Its pretty dumb using film characters to advertise your business, especially if as they claim they have been using the name for 20 years - it suggests that they've recently changed the signage to take advantage of the film company's copyrighted images.

Not clever, not victims either.

Pretty much my view too. If it were just a "regular" pub called The Hobbitt I'd be full square behind them, but since they've changed all the signage and offers to the same as the films then I have little sympathy. They're simply trying to make money from and take advantage of someone else's work.

Well, my reading of this suggests that the imbecilic lawyers want them to drop all names – and certainly, on the basis of the pub sign I've seen, that is not a picture from the film, but a generalised line drawing of what some of the characters might look like.

I'm sorry . . . did Saul Zaentz write Lord of the Rings? I thought it was Tolkien. Phew. For a minute there I thought the poor Saul was taking advantage of someone else's work. My mistake.

I hope someone has told Elijah Wood that Saul owns his likeness too. They'll have a good pay day there, a Google search for Hobbit Art comes up with about 8.8m images. That will take some checking.

But presumably this Saul person bought the rights to these things. Elijah Wood no doubt was paid money so that the films could use his likeness. The artwork etc used was designed by someone working on the films. Not by someone at the pub. It is not the pub's work but someone else's.
If the pub had paid to use these images/artwork etc then nobody would have a problem. But they didn't. They want to make money using someone else's work. The owner of the rights to that work is surely entitled to say either take it or down or pay some money.
Like Mclaren said, if this were called the McDonalds pub and decked out like a McDonalds with Ronald McDonald as barman, then no-one would think twice when McDonalds told them to stop.
It's why we have copyright law surely? Like I said, if it were just the name no-one would bother but because they've gone down the whole route of using pictures/artwork etc from the films and named the drinks then I have little sympathy.

Having presumably updated the original Hobbit theme of 20 years hence because of the film...