Middle-earth Enterprises, formerly known as Tolkien Enterprises, is a subdivision of the Embracer Freemode division of

Embracer Group Embracer Group AB (formerly Nordic Games Licensing AB and THQ Nordic AB) is a Swedish video game and media holding company based in Karlstad. The company comprises 8 operative groups: Amplifier Game Invest, CDE Entertainment, Coffee Stain Studi ...

and formerly a

trade name A trade name, trading name, or business name is a pseudonym used by companies that do not operate under their registered company name. The term for this type of alternative name is fictitious business name. Registering the fictitious name with ...

for a division of The

Saul Zaentz Saul Zaentz (; February 28, 1921January 3, 2014) was an American film producer and record company executive. He won the Academy Award for Best Picture three times and, in 1996, was awarded the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award. Zaentz's film pr ...

Company. The subdivision owns the worldwide exclusive rights to certain elements of

J. R. R. Tolkien John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was the Rawlinson ...

's two most famous literary works: ''

The Hobbit ''The Hobbit, or There and Back Again'' is a children's fantasy novel by the English author J. R. R. Tolkien. It was published in 1937 to wide critical acclaim, being nominated for the Carnegie Medal and awarded a prize from the ...

'' and ''

The Lord of the Rings ''The Lord of the Rings'' is an Epic (genre), epic high fantasy novel written by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's book ''The Hobbit'' but eventually d ...

''. These elements include the names of characters contained within as well as the names of places, objects and events within them, and certain short phrases and sayings from the works. In 2022, Embracer Group purchased Middle-earth Enterprises from The

Company.

Background and history

, the author of ''

'' and ''

'', sold the film, stage and merchandising rights of those works to

United Artists United Artists (UA) is an American film production and film distribution, distribution company owned by Amazon MGM Studios. In its original operating period, it was founded in February 1919 by Charlie Chaplin, D. W. Griffith, Mary Pickford an ...

in 1969. They in turn sold them to The Saul Zaentz Company in 1976, which in turn formed Tolkien Enterprises, now named ''Middle-earth Enterprises'', in 1977. United Artists retained distribution rights. In 1977, Rankin/Bass licensed the rights to produce an animated version of ''

'', which was broadcast on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

. In 1978, Tolkien Enterprises and the distributor United Artists funded and released an animated version of ''

'' directed by

Ralph Bakshi Ralph Bakshi (; born October 29, 1938) is a Mandatory Palestine-born American retired animator and filmmaker, known for his fantastical animated films. In the 1970s, he established an alternative to mainstream animation through independent anim ...

, which covered approximately the first half of ''The Lord of the Rings''. In 1999, the company severed their licensing agreement with

Iron Crown Enterprises Iron Crown Enterprises (ICE) is a publishing company that has produced role playing, board, miniature, and collectible card games since 1980. Many of ICE's better-known products were related to J. R. R. Tolkien's world of Middle-earth, but the ''R ...

(ICE) for role-playing games set in

Middle-earth Middle-earth is the Setting (narrative), setting of much of the English writer J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy. The term is equivalent to the ''Midgard, Miðgarðr'' of Norse mythology and ''Middangeard'' in Old English works, including ''Beowulf'' ...

after ICE ceased developing new products for this line. This contributed to ICE filing for bankruptcy in 2001. Tolkien Enterprises then made a new licensing agreement with Decipher Inc. for their ''

The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying Game ''The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying Game'', released by Decipher, Inc. in 2002, is a tabletop role-playing game set in the fictional world of Middle-earth created by J. R. R. Tolkien. The game is set in the years between ''The Hobbit'' and ''The ...

'', which published content from 2002 to 2006. Initially,

Miramax Miramax, LLC, formerly known as Miramax Films, is an American independent film and television production and distribution company owned by beIN Media Group and Paramount Global. Based in Los Angeles, California, it was founded on December 19, ...

was backing the production of

Peter Jackson Sir Peter Robert Jackson (born 31 October 1961) is a New Zealand filmmaker. He is best known as the director, writer, and producer of the ''Lord of the Rings'' trilogy (2001–2003) and the ''Hobbit'' trilogy (2012–2014), both of which ar ...

's ''The Lord of the Rings'' films in 1997, but was restricted by then-owner

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

, who demanded that they turn the story into one film instead of two films, thus Jackson brought the project to

New Line Cinema New Line Productions, Inc., Trade name, doing business as New Line Cinema, is an American film production, film and television production company that is a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group, a division of the Major film studios, ...

, who acquired the rights to develop ''The Lord of the Rings'' and ''The Hobbit'' from Miramax for about $12 million (Miramax retained a 5% stake in the gross). Principal photography for Jackson's ''The Lord of the Rings'' film trilogy was conducted concurrently in New Zealand from 11 October 1999 through to 22 December 2000. Produced under license from Tolkien Enterprises and released by New Line in 2001, 2002, and 2003, the films met critical and commercial success, but in August 2004, Tolkien Enterprises sued New Line for $20 million in unpaid royalties based on the difference between gross and

net profit In business and Accountancy, accounting, net income (also total comprehensive income, net earnings, net profit, bottom line, sales profit, or credit sales) is an entity's income minus cost of goods sold, expenses, depreciation and Amortization (a ...

s. An out-of-court settlement was reached in August 2005, though details were not released. Video game rights to Tolkien's literary works were first licensed to

Vivendi Vivendi SE (stylized in all lowercase) is a French investment company headquartered in Paris. It currently wholly-owns Gameloft as well as a number of investments in several companies, primarily involved in content, entertainment, media, and t ...

, which produced ''

The Fellowship of the Ring ''The Fellowship of the Ring'' is the first of three volumes of the epic novel ''The Lord of the Rings'' by the English author J. R. R. Tolkien; it is followed by ''The Two Towers'' and ''The Return of the King''. The action takes place in th ...

'' in 2002 and ''

'' in 2003. At around the same time licensing agreements for products relating to the films produced by

were obtained by

Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by former Apple Inc., Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry ...

(EA), leading to the release of a series of games, starting with ''The Two Towers'' in 2002. In 2005, EA acquired the rights to produce games based on the literary works as well, producing further titles up to the release of '' The Lord of the Rings: Conquest'' in 2009, when the licensing agreement expired. Video game rights then passed to

Warner Brothers Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

. In 2010, the name was changed to ''Middle-earth Enterprises''. In 2011,

Cubicle 7 Cubicle 7 Entertainment Ltd is an Ireland, Irish games company that creates and publishes tabletop games. Best known for its ''Doctor Who'' and ''Lord of the Rings'' games, Cubicle 7 offers titles covering a range of licensed and self-developed p ...

produced ''

The One Ring Roleplaying Game ''The One Ring Roleplaying Game'' is a tabletop role-playing game set in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth, set at the time between '' The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. Designed by Francesco Nepitello and Marco Maggi, the game was initi ...

'', a licensed role-playing game set in

, in collaboration with Sophisticated Games. While the game featured its own unique rules, Cubicle 7 revealed in 2016 that it would create an adaptation using tabletop gaming rules compatible with ''

Dungeons & Dragons ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (TTRPG) originally created and designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by TSR (company)#Tactical ...

''. In 2020, Cubicle 7 lost the rights, which were then relicensed to Free League Publishing, which published the second edition of ''The One Ring'' in 2021 and later a D&D-compatible version in late 2022. In 2022, Middle-earth Enterprises was purchased by

, the parent company of

THQ Nordic THQ Nordic GmbH (formerly Nordic Games GmbH) is an Austrian video game publisher based in Vienna. Formed in 2011, it is a publishing subsidiary of Embracer Group. Originally named Nordic Games, as was the parent company, both companies were r ...

Legal disputes

In March 2012,

, a

pub A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the late 17th century, to differentiate private ho ...

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

, England, received documents from Middle-earth Enterprises alleging

copyright A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive legal right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, ...

infringement of its name. The Hobbit pub continues to trade under that name as of October 2020. The Hungry Hobbit café in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

, near where

grew up, was also threatened with legal action in 2011. In November 2012, the

Tolkien Estate The Tolkien Estate is the legal body which manages the property of the English writer J. R. R. Tolkien, including the copyright for most of his works. The individual copyrights have for the most part been assigned by the estate (law), estate to s ...

, trustee and publishers sued Middle-earth Enterprises,

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

, and

for infringing Tolkien's copyrights by producing casino and video games using his characters. The original license to Tolkien's works was limited to the right to sell "tangible" products such as "figurines, tableware, stationery items, clothing, and the like", but did not cover "electronic or digital rights, rights in media yet to be devised or other intangibles such as rights in services". Tolkien's estate claimed that the defendants' actions had caused "irreparable harm to Tolkien's legacy". The lawsuit spent five years in

discovery Discovery may refer to: * Discovery (observation), observing or finding something unknown * Discovery (fiction), a character's learning something unknown * Discovery (law), a process in courts of law relating to evidence Discovery, The Discovery ...

and was settled "amicably" out of court in July 2017, before a trial was held. In March 2025, Middle-earth Enterprises failed in its attempt to oppose a request by vegan fast food chain

Lord of the Fries Lord of the Fries is an Australian casual dining fast food chain. It was originally based in Melbourne, before expanding into other regions. It serves only Veganism, vegan dishes including loaded fries, veggie burgers, Vegetarian hot dog, hot d ...

to protect the three key words "Lord of the", which the company had used in its name for over 15 years.

Licenses

As of 2023, the company's current licensees are as follows: * Adaptations: **

– film rights. ** Kevin Wallace Ltd for stage productions of ''The Lord of the Rings''. ** Video games: *** 2000-2004:

Sierra Entertainment Sierra Entertainment, Inc. (formerly On-Line Systems and Sierra On-Line, Inc.) was an American video game developer and Video game publisher, publisher founded in 1979 by Ken Williams (game developer), Ken and Roberta Williams. The company is ...

- for an adaption of both of the books ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. *** 2004-2009:

– for games based on both books in addition to the official ''The Lord of the Rings'' film trilogy license from

. *** Post 2009:

Warner Bros. Games Warner Bros. Games (formerly Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment) is an American video game publisher based in Burbank, California. The publisher was founded as a division of Warner Bros. on January 14, 2004, as well as the WB Games brand. ...

– for games based on both books in addition to the official Peter Jackson's film series. ***

Daybreak Game Company Daybreak Game Company LLC is an American video game developer based in San Diego. The company was founded in December 1997 as Sony Online Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Computer Entertainment, but was spun off to an independent investor in ...

– for an online role-playing game, ''

The Lord of the Rings Online ''The Lord of the Rings Online'' is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) for Microsoft Windows and previously for OS X, set in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth, taking place during the time period of ''The Lord of the Rings''. ...

'', originally developed by

Turbine A turbine ( or ) (from the Greek , ''tyrbē'', or Latin ''turbo'', meaning vortex) is a rotary mechanical device that extracts energy from a fluid flow and converts it into useful work. The work produced can be used for generating electrical ...

for

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment Warner Bros. Games (formerly Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment) is an American video game publisher based in Burbank, California. The publisher was founded as a division of Warner Bros. on January 14, 2004, as well as the WB Games brand. ...

. *** 2019:

Daedalic Entertainment Daedalic Entertainment GmbH is a German video game publisher and former video game developer, developer based in Hamburg. They developed various point-and-click adventure games. History Daedalic Entertainment was founded on 1 March 2007 in a ...

Nacon Nacon SA (formerly Bigben Interactive SA) is a French video game publisher, holdings company and gaming peripherals manufacturer based in Lesquin. It designs and distributes gaming accessories, and publishes and distributes video games for va ...

– for the video game '' The Lord of the Rings: Gollum'' (2023). *** 2022: North Beach Games – for the video game '' The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria'' (2023). *** 2022:

– for the mobile game ''The Lord of the Rings: Heroes of Middle-earth''. ** Other games: *** Games Workshop PLC for a range of miniatures games (''

Middle-earth Strategy Battle Game ''Middle Earth Strategy Battle Game'' (previously marketed as ''The Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game'', ''The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Strategy Battle Game'', ''The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Strategy Battle Game'' and ''The Hobb ...

'') and ''

Battle Games in Middle-earth A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force c ...

'' magazine. *** Game Systems International Ltd. (Games Systems Inc.) for '' Middle-Earth Play-By-Mail'' released by Game Systems Inc. and the ''One Ring'' module of Legends (PBM) released by

Harlequin Games Harlequin Games is a business which designs and moderates Play-by-mail game, PBM games by email of which their Legends (PBM) engine is the most recognized. From theirAbout Us page - "We fuse wild imagination with good game-play in everything we ...

. *** Card games: ****

Wizards of the Coast Wizards of the Coast LLC (WotC or Wizards) is an American game Publishing, publisher, most of which are based on fantasy and List of science fiction themes, science-fiction themes, and formerly an operator of retail game stores. In 1999, toy ...

's Magic: The Gathering's The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth (2023-) ****

Fantasy Flight Games Fantasy Flight Games (FFG) is a game developer based in Roseville, Minnesota, United States, that creates and publishes role-playing game, role-playing, board game, board, card game, card, and dice game, dice games. As of 2014, it is a division of ...

' The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game (2011-2022) ****

Decipher DECIPHER is a web-based resource and database of genomic variation data from analysis of patient DNA. It documents submicroscopic Chromosome abnormality, chromosome abnormalities (Deletion (genetics), microdeletions and Gene duplication, duplic ...

The Lord of the Rings Trading Card Game ''The Lord of the Rings Trading Card Game'' (a.k.a. ''LOTR TCG'') is an out-of-print collectible card game produced by Decipher, Inc. Released November 2001, it is based on Peter Jackson's ''The Lord of the Rings'' film trilogy and the J. R. R. ...

(2001-2007) ****

Middle-earth Collectible Card Game Middle-earth Collectible Card Game (MECCG) is an out-of-print collectible card game released by Iron Crown Enterprises in late 1995. It is the first CCG based on J.R.R. Tolkien's fictional universe of Middle-earth, with added content from ICE's ...

(1982-2000) *** Roleplaying games: ****

Free League Publishing Free League Publishing (Swedish: Fria Ligan) is a game studio and publisher based in Stockholm, Sweden, formed in 2011. The company designs and publishes tabletop role-playing games, board games, and books based on licensed properties and independe ...

''The One Ring'' and ''The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying'' (since 2020) ****

and Adventures in Middle-earth (2011-2020) ****

(2001-2006) ****

Middle-earth Role Playing ''Middle-earth Role Playing'' (''MERP'') is a 1984 tabletop role-playing game based on J. R. R. Tolkien ''The Lord of the Rings'' and ''The Hobbit'' under license from Tolkien Enterprises. Iron Crown Enterprises (I.C.E.) published the game until ...

(1982-2000) *** Mithril Miniatures for ranges of 32 mm and 54 mm scale metal miniatures. *** US Games Systems Inc. – a ''Lord of the Rings'' based tarot card deck and game. * Collectibles: **

Danbury Mint Danbury Mint is a private mint that markets a variety of collectibles. Danbury Mint historically marketed medals and ingots produced by others exclusively for them. The company also sold numerous other collectible offering including plates, bell ...

for a variety of related merchandise such as film cells, watches and goblets. ** Lladró Comercial, S.A. ** Royal Selangor International for a range of pewter goblets, tankards and chess pieces.

References

External links

Middle-earth Enterprises website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Middle-Earth Enterprises 1977 establishments in California American companies established in 1977 Companies based in Berkeley, California Intellectual property organizations Middle-earth 2022 mergers and acquisitions Embracer Group American subsidiaries of foreign companies

Background and history

Legal disputes

Licenses

See also

References

External links