The American company and the Turkish hotel did not share the “trademark” of the writer Tolkien, recently further glorified by the films of Peter Jackson. A scandal erupted in Turkey after an American film company banned the use of the name “Hobbit Houses” in a hotel styled as a Hobbit dwelling in Turkey, and it had to be renamed “Houses on the Hill”.
The details, as reported by the Turkish press, are as follows: The American production company The Saul Zaentz Company sent a notice to the notary through its lawyers in Turkey, stating that the copyright of the name used in the film “The Lord of the Rings” belongs to them and that no one else can use it.
The restraining order states that the name “The Hobbit” is identified with the movie “Lord of the Rings” and cannot be used without permission as they own the copyright.
Operations manager Emre Gençles said they changed the property’s name to “Fairytale Slopes Hotel” following a notification from the film’s production company. However, an eco-pension known as Hobbiton Village in Ciral, Antakya, as well as the American company that once built the bungalows, opposed it. Moreover, in addition to using the name, the American company also states that the buildings of the object cannot be similar to those in the movie “The Hobbit”.
An interesting detail: at the same time, the Turks add that there are several objects with similar names in Russia. There are such hotels in Moscow, Tver region, Stavropol region, and some other regions. But there, the American company cannot take any measures against them.