Major dispute threatens UK development project

Major dispute threatens UK development project




Plans for a Suffolk development are back under way after an IP dispute, however funding for the project has stalled.

Plans for a Suffolk development are back under way after an IP dispute, however funding for the project has stalled...

The project, a dwelling which was initially inspired by Tolkien's 'The Lord of the Rings', appeared to be in jeopardy yesterday after it was removed from crowdfunding website, Kickstarter.

A statement on the project’s official website, Podditon.co.uk, said yesterday: “We are so sorry to announce that our Kickstarter campaign has been temporarily suspended but please do not lose faith in us!”

“We are in dialogue with Warner Bros and they have instructed Kickstarter that there is a Trademark dispute regarding the use of the words “Hobbit” and “Middle Earth” and other references.

“We were upfront with Warner Bros from the start, by contacting them about a licence and we are now in dialogue which will shortly be amicably resolved.”

However since then Jan Lengyel, the man behind the project, has told B&C that Warner Bros and the trademark holder ‘The Saul Zaentz Company’ no longer have an issue with the copyright or trademark and have sent him confirmation.

He said: “I don’t understand why Warner Bros were so heavy handed as we have complied to all their demands.”

When contacted by B&C Warner Bros said the issue was nothing to do with them.

When contacting for comment, The Saul Zaentz Company did not respond by time of publishing.

Now the dispute has been resolved, the campaign is now back on Kickstarter, but all references to ‘Hobbit’ and ‘Lord of the Rings’ have been removed.

Pledges had reached just over £15,000 for the development earlier this week, but at the time of publishing, funding dropped to over £14,000 after pledgers were given the option to manage their pledge.

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