pubkeeper Bilbo trying to make sense of threatening legal missive from Mordor
The copyright orcs at the Saul Zaentz Company were trying to shut down a pub named after The Hobbit, but thanks to enormous internet backlash, including Hobbit actors Ian McKellen (“as if it were possible to control the way Tolkien and his characters have entered the culture”) and Stephen Fry (“what pointless, self-defeating bullying”), as well as a facebook support page set up by student Heather Cartwright (“how long do we need to protect works for? do we protect the works of Mozart and Shakespeare?”), the orcs have backed down, saying it was all a “misunderstanding,” and the pub now need only pay a tribute of $100 a year – which is still too much (the right to freedom of speech shouldn’t come with a pricetag), but it’s a lot better than being forced to change their name or go out of business.
It’s good to see that concerted activism can succeed in shaming these companies out of their cyberbullying. And it’s more evidence for the strategic effectiveness of direct action over legislative reform.