Licensing

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History

Licensees infographic by Tim Bolton (2022)

• 1936 - Stanley Unwin mails J.R.R. Tolkien a signed duplicate contract for The Hobbit to be published.
• 1958 - J.R.R. Tolkien and Rayner Unwin agree to grant American businessmen, Forrest J. Ackerman and Morton Grady Zimmerman an option on the film rights to The Lord of the Rings for six months to allow an agreeable script to be developed. A script was not agreed upon and the option expired in early 1959.
• 1962 - J.R.R. Tolkien and Allen & Unwin enter a contract with William L. Snyder of Rembrandt Films to make a film adaptation of The Hobbit.
• 1966 - In a last minute attempt to avoid Snyder's licensing rights to expire, The Hobbit (1966 film) is released.
• 1969 - United Artists acquires the film, television, stage, and merchandising rights to The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings from author J.R.R. Tolkien, who retains book publishing rights.
• 1976 - The Saul Zaentz Production Company acquires film and other rights for The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings from United Artists.
• 1977 - The Saul Zaentz Company forms a d/b/a Tolkien Enterprises.
• 1978 - Saul Zaentz produces the animated film The Lord of the Rings, directed by Ralph Bakshi.
• 1986 - George Allen & Unwin merge with Bell & Hyman in to form Unwin Hyman.
• 1990 - Unwin Hyman is purchased by HarperCollins.
• 1997 - The Saul Zaentz Company options their film rights to The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit to Miramax Films.
• 1998 - New Line Cinema purchases the film options for The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit from Miramax.
• 2001 - New Line Cinema releases The Fellowship of the Ring, co-produced and directed by Peter Jackson.
• 2002 - New Line Cinema releases The Two Towers.
• 2003 - New Line Cinema releases The Return of the King.
• 2004 - Electronic Arts releases The Battle for Middle-earth, a real time strategy game under a joint license with New Line Cinema and Tolkien Enterprises.
• 2005 - Tolkien Enterprises enters a renewed era of licensing with the worldwide popularity of the Peter Jackson films. New Line and its parent company, Warner Brothers, release a flood of merchandise based upon film assets, under license from Tolkien Enterprises, which enters into new license agreements for merchandise based exclusively upon the Tolkien literary property, including for board games, videogames, jewelry, figurines and other collectibles.
• 2006 - Electronic Arts releases The Battle for Middle-earth II video game.
• 2006 - The Lord of the Rings Musical stage play premieres in Toronto, Canada. A Kevin Wallace Ltd. production under license from Tolkien Enterprises.
• 2007 - Turbine releases an MMO videogame based on the literary property only, The Lord of the Rings Online (LOTRO) under license from Tolkien Enterprises. Turbine is purchased by WB Games in 2010. LOTRO is purchased by Standing Stone Games in 2016.
• 2008 - New Line Cinema merges with Warner Bros. and it through this way it obtains distribution rights of The Lord of the Rings (film series) and co-production rights of The Hobbit (film series).
• 2010 - Tolkien Enterprises changes its name to Middle-earth Enterprises.
• 2012 - Warner Bros releases The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.
• 2013 - Warner Bros releases The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.
• 2014 - Warner Bros releases The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies.
• 2017 - Amazon purchases global television rights to The Lord of the Rings through a partnership with the Tolkien Estate, Tolkien Trust, HarperCollins, and New Line Cinema. This includes multiple seasons and potential spinoff series.
• 2022 - Amazon acquires MGM for $8.5 billion, which includes film and TV rights to The Hobbit.
• 2022 - Embracer acquires Middle-earth Enterprises

See also

• Lawsuits
• Middle-earth Enterprises/Copyrights