Brighton bin firm told to ditch Lord of the Rings name over ‘ridiculous’ copyright claim
Lord of the Bins slapped down by LOTR lawyers
A tiny, two-man waste company in Brighton has been ordered to scrap its name and slogan by Middle-earth Enterprises, the legal guardians of the Lord of the Rings franchise. The firm behind the claim says customers might wrongly think the bin business is officially linked to the legendary fantasy series.
Cease and desist: ‘One Ring to Remove It All’ must go
Lawyers from Simmons & Simmons hit the owners with a legal letter on January 18. They demanded the firm stop all use of Lord of the Bins, including the cheeky slogan ‘One Ring to Remove It All,’ by February 1 or face formal legal action. This means scrubbing the name from their website and social media fast.
Owners fight back: ‘We’re no threat to a billion-pound empire’
“They claim customers could confuse that we’re endorsed by or affiliated to Lord of the Rings… but anyone with half a brain knows we’re a totally separate, non-competitive business,” said owners Nick Lockwood and Dan Walker.
“Despite what Middle-earth Enterprises thinks, we might now have to splash out thousands rebranding just to appease a multi-billion pound giant. We’ll survive this storm and keep serving our city, whatever our name.”
They’re calling for support, urging locals to share the story and get in touch with Middle-earth Enterprises to help them see sense.
