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Hobbit Pub Saved By Actors Stephen Fry and Sir Ian McKellen
Fluffeh writes "Recently the Hobbit Pub in England was sued for rights infringement, but it seems Stephen Fry and Sir Ian McKellen are going to re-pony-up the cash to keep the pub alive. Landlady Stella Roberts said she had been shocked by the actors' offer. She said: 'I had a telephone call on Saturday evening, while we were trading, from Stephen Fry's business partner and manager. That's when he told me. I was very shocked. They've said as soon as they finish filming they would like to come down and visit the pub.' However Ms Roberts said she was not celebrating just yet. She added: 'Until everything is in black and white, on paper, we're going to be a bit reserved because it could be $100 this year and $20,000 next year.'"
Because it comes in PINTS!
There's a spot in User Info for World of Warcraft account names? Really?
Good on them for bailing her out. Nobody wants some lady running a small pub to have to deal with harassment over something goofy like this.
Though one can't help but wonder what happens now, when some dope comes along and names their daycare business, "Hogwarts".
I see you are a new user here...we can let it slide this time, but any real /. user would understand why this is a story here!!!!
ttyl
Farrell
CAN-CON 2019 - Ottawa's only book oriented Science Fiction Convention! October 18-20, Sheraton Hotel, Ottawa, Canada h
Because IP law is a thing of interest to nerds, and they believe that it's stuff that matters. But maybe not to you, sooooo, quick, let's bicker on the Internets now because your preferences aren't the same as everyone elses. Your whiney post has been somewhat legitimized by my humorous comment; you're welcome, no charge, it appears you could use a little bit of a sense of humor, and I have a little extra to share with the less fortunate. ^_^
There's a spot in User Info for World of Warcraft account names? Really?
Because Hobbits are always relevant. Always.
OK, keep in mind the serious geekness of professing a love for LotR. Add to that an IP conflict in that this woman was ignored for years and now is gettin hammered on by the IP cops.
I could go on, but you get the general drift...
Understanding the scope of the problem is the first step on the path to true panic.
Something like Lord Smoked Meat and Fish's Pub and Hotel Casino.
Because it's a matter of freedom... of speech AND beer!
Sometimes I wish I was a plumber, then I'd know how to deal with other people's shit.
This needs to stop, now
The word "Hobbit" predates Tolkein (the real one) by a good century. The prefix "hob" (from "hobbe"), with a variety of faerie-folksy suffixes, predates that by another three centuries - At least.
JRR knew all this perfectly well, and never claimed exclusive rights to a common word used to describe the wee people of mythology. Only these asshats that have tried to cash in on Grand-dad's legacy have so poor of a grasp of the work of their ancestor as to claim it as a "copyright". He, as a proper good ol' Don, would no doubt have outright disowned his fool-descendants for their ignorance.
Sad, really, and just one more reason we need to get rid of this entire BS charade we call "intellectual property" ASAP.
It's not just the use of the name "The Hobbit" it's the use of Still Images from the LOTR movies in their promotional material. Essentially, these people are lifting copyrighted imagery and using it to promote themselves -- most definitely NOT cool and if I was one of the parties that ponied up hundreds of millions to make these films, I'd be a bit peeved by someone taking that work and using it without permission to make a profit.
I can only imagine that Stephen Fry and Sir Ian McKellen do not know the full story here and possibly think that this is a matter of a harmless pub merely using the word "Hobbit" in their name and have not seen the website or promotional material produced by this pub.
And for the record, the web site and promo material is completely amateur and quite tacky. Hopefully any money given to the pub to support them would mandate that they cease using imagery from the movies and perhaps use hand drawn illustrations by fans and artists who wish to contribute artwork for them to use.
Now that the copyright holders know there are people with money they'll be asking a lot more for the license.
The pub uses (used?) images from the movies on its loyalty cards.
So yeah, they decided to ride on the films fame to bolster the pub's business.
http://lkml.org/lkml/2005/8/20/95
Haven't we seen all this before? The trademark owners have to do this to protect their rights, or they get diluted? Then afterwards to come to some reasonable arrangement?
I'll mince no words: Saul Zaentz is and always has been an ahole. He only owns the rights to the film version of the book, he does not own the book. He ripped off Credence Clearwater's John Fogerty long ago, and then had the audacity to sue Fogerty for hundreds of millions, claiming John did not have the right to use his own riffs. He lost the suit but remained a complete dick. This man is the epitomy of wrong.
Okay, mods, that's a new one... you can't call the First Post "Redundant".
Obviously, you can. Are you doubting the evidence of your own eyes?
"Convictions are more dangerous enemies of truth than lies."
The vast majority of Slashdot readers probably thought is was both funny and a much better answer to your (cave?) troll than was deserved.
If you can't see the point or the humor the problem may not be whether the post belongs on Slashdot, but whether you do...
Hobbits AND an IP infringement lawsuit AND beer! How can you even question this story? It's one of the most typical of /. stories up at the moment...
"Convictions are more dangerous enemies of truth than lies."
Website of the pub: http://www.hobbitpub.co.uk/"
Most of the "infringing material" is mere fan art like this graffiti in the beer garden: http://www.hobbitpub.co.uk/gallery/hobbitgraffiti/67/
Even thought it is just a drawing they were asked to over-paint it.
Here is a still from the movie used as background for a card: http://www.hobbitpub.co.uk/hobbit-cocktails/
That's pretty much it.
I think Steven Fry and Sir Ian McKellen are right when they call the claims "petty". How many pubs are there with images of e.g. Elvis Presley? I am sure someone has a copyright to them as well. So all auxiliary lawyers here should calm the f*** down.
If this was just a dispute over promotional material, the pub wouldn't need any licensing fees at all -- it would just have to stop using the screencaps. The studio demanded the pub stop all references to all "trademarked" characters (which would require them to change drink names and the pub name), despite the fact that it's clearly had rights for less than the pub's been operation (20 years). That's not a debate over copyright imagery, and indeed the article calls it a "trademark dispute." That's just absurd. I only regret that Fry and McKellen are actually paying these trademark trolls.
...an old guy who stands in front of implacable foes. Granted, lawyers are worse than ancient supernatural fire demons.
Perhaps not, but they certainly started selling stuff with the images of the characters from the movie including putting Elijah Woods face on things. That's what prompted the legal action.
I haven't seen any indication that the character image infringement issues were what "really" prompted the action. If that were so, this would be a non-story now (since they've removed all copyrighted pictures from their website and fliers) The copyright infringement may be where the pub was most definitively in the wrong, but it is far from the core of the issue.
It's redundant in that practically every story has at least one post saying how it's a nonstory. The guy claiming this one to be a nonstory is particularly off base in that the story involves Lord of the Rings, intellectual property law, and beer... the only way it could be more relevant to Slashdot's collective interests is if the ghost of Steve Jobs was found drinking there with Linus Torvalds.
Is how much people still use "gay" as an insult of sorts.
These guys are made from solid class.
And especially so in the context of rule 34.
It's the Hobbit pub. It comes in half pints, you insensitive clod!
Quidnam Latine loqui modo coepi?
They use actual screencaps and promotional materials ripped from the movies and associated trademarked/copyrighted works, without permission.
It's the Hobbit pub. It comes in half pints, you insensitive clod!
Is that a European or an American hobbit? (An American Hobbit is only 0.42 pints).
Everyone steals, what is your point?
MMO Quests are like orgasms:
You may solo them, I prefer them in a group.
That's not new. It happens all the time and has for years.
Either Jobs or Torvalds would need to be using a car analogy.
It's the Hobbit pub. It comes in half pints, you insensitive clod!
"Do you think they'll make jokes about our height?"
"Of course not! If we behave like tall people, we'll be treated tall people!"
"What'll it be, gents?"
"We'd like a half pint of ale, a plate of short ribs with small fries, and a short order of shrimp!"
"That's tellin' 'im, Mr. Frodo!"
(From The Ring and I, musical parody of the Bakshi version of Lord of the Rings, in Mad Magazine ~1978).
"The Greens lynched a hacker in Chicago. Last month, but I think the body's still hanging from the old Water Tower."
"Repony" isn't a word. "Prancing Pony" is two, though.
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
Repony? Really?
Imagine I were to open a theme pub where whenever someone orders a certain drink its name flashes on a screen and a buzzer sounds, and all the staff talk like pretentious knobheads except for one who acts intentionally obtuse.
What would Mr Fry think about that?
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
I feel I should address some of the issues raised in these comments. Firstly, the lawsuit was threatened because of their name. Second, the letter Mr Zaentz sent us was certainly NOT amicable, but we're not allowed to share it for legal reasons. Regarding use of images from the movie, perhaps that wasn't very well thought through, but anyone who has been to the pub could tell you that the places these images are used don't really have a bearing on sales at all - people don't buy loyalty cards because they've got Elijah Wood's face on, and nor do they buy an Aragorn drink simply because the poster has Viggo Mortensen's face on it. The pub has never tried to piggy-back on the movies' success. It's just a slightly geeky pub run by Tolkien fans for students who wouldn't see it changed for the world. Perhaps there have been some foolish but well-meaning errors committed. There are bigger things to deal with in the world of IP than small British pubs.
Half pints, surely for hobbits?
One does not simply walk into Mordor...
Donald 'Duck' Dunn: We had a band powerful enough to turn goat piss into gasoline.
Good. I find it ridiculous that this pub can be in existence for so long without one hushed word from Tolkien's people, then BANG, IZZA MOVIE and those involved in the film (The Money) start throwing their toys out of the pram. The only way I could see this as a problem is if the place was built less than ten years ago, with every inch of wall space coated in movie stills and there was hard evidence that the pub somehow affected New Line's economic climate. Everyone involved in the films does understand how much money they've made in the last 13 years, correct? Hell, in a perfect world, people and businesses SHOULD be able to cash in on the freakin' films; we're all owed for the trickling-in of the first DVD release then OH, here's the extended edition... oh hey, five years later, theatrical... you've made your nickel, guys, let it go.
You want to know how to help your kids? LEAVE THEM THE F*&K ALONE. --George Carlin
Yes they should have driven.
http://michaelsmith.id.au
One does not simply walk into Mordor...
No, you need a reservation.
I can imagine the owners of http://www.hotblackdesiato.co.uk/ getting scared too :)
Because geeks
I do not believe in karma. "Funny"=-6. Do good and forbid evil. Yours, Oft-Offtopic Flamebaiting Troll.
You seem to find it interesting enough news to comment upon.
Actually the "Little House on the Prairie" pub sell those..
Too early for an obscure reference?
These comments are my own and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of my employer or colleagues...
So Stephen Fry said, shut up and take my money?
You need to have a Mordor Car.
From scarped cliff or quarried stone she cries "A thousand types are gone, I care for nothing, no not one."
imagine if Steve Jobs was still available over telnet, that would be awesome!
sag
Ummmmm, samzenpus, WHAT does this have to do with YRO? Are your hands covered in vaseline from jacking off to hentai and you just slipped when you hit "accept" but meant to hit "reject?" I look forward to your reply.
Or the car analogy would be using them!
...that has drunk in this establishment? I am a bit bewildered by the mention of the decor. It's just standard crappy pub decor, crappy benches outside, a few pool tables and a few fruities (slot machines). What -isn't- mentioned that this pub charges people on the busier nights of the week an entrance fee. Something you'll be hard pressed to find in ANY other pub in the entirety of the United Kingdom, let alone Southampton. I smell a rat.
One does not simply walk into Mordor...
Fun EasterEgg:
http://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=the+shire&daddr=mordor&hl=en&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=56.768363,129.462891&geocode=FX4LyAId956r-CFRahjeZovxbimXsyoA1OGTVDEwoC673r5F7Q%3BFcN03wIdQoC4-CH8a--mEVbGqimzjaBzg0-FVDESy8qgwx97Ww&mra=ls&t=m&z=9
It turns out that Mordor is in Arlington, WA
Crap, wrong link: http://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=the+shire&daddr=mordor&hl=en&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=56.768363,129.462891&geocode=FX4LyAId956r-CFRahjeZovxbimXsyoA1OGTVDEwoC673r5F7Q%3BFcN03wIdQoC4-CH8a--mEVbGqimzjaBzg0-FVDESy8qgwx97Ww&mra=ls&t=m&z=9
A yankee? I was going to blame the Tolkien estate for this, but apparently it's even more ridiculous.
Drink, you fools!
That pub might've been operated under the name "The Hobbit" for 20 years .. but I'll bet dollars (or pounds) to donuts (or hashers) that the sign with the blatant movie character ripoffs is not nearly that old. THERE is the copyright infringement, and the owners were damned fools to put up that sign.
Take down the sign, put up something elfish or wizardry, anything that isn't readily identifiable from the LOTR movie, and THEN fight the greedy movie lawyer bastiges.
Remember the old adage (American, I do believe): "Millions for defense, not one penny for tribute." Tell those generous actors thank you very much, but we'll use your money to defend in court, not to pay tribute in the form of licensing.
Toad
That's obscure?
Required reading for internet skeptics
Only if Mordor is in Soviet Russia.
It's the Hobbit pub. It comes in half pints, you insensitive clod!
Is that an American hobbit or Everywhere-else-in-the-world hobbit? (An American Hobbit is only 0.42 pints).
There I fixed that for you. Wait... my bad... Liberia and Myanmar also don't use the metric system. :)
After logging in slashdot still does not take you back to the page you were on. It's been that way for 20 years.
Surely there are others here who've been to the pub? I was there on the Open Repositories Conference 2008. Huge beer garden straight out of Spinal Tap without the budget (check out the gallery on the website). Great disturbed poet (think McGonagall after 20 years of acid) on a synth that night. Great black-painted old-school longhairds' pub. Good luck to them.
Maybe they did, but the pub told them to screw off. You're assuming that the media has told the entire story
So it comes down to whether journalists are being honest or lawyers are being reasonable. I now wonder if there is a third, more plausible explanation.
A fun Easter egg would be that if you switched it to walking directions is responded that you can't just walk into Mordor. That is just directions between two places that happen to have interesting names.
APK likes to ask for responses to the same things over and over. Maybe he just likes the responses?
Which apparently it does if you switch to walking mode...
Walking directions are in beta.
Use caution – One does not simply walk into Mordor.
APK likes to ask for responses to the same things over and over. Maybe he just likes the responses?