Tolkien Estate, HarperCollins settle lawsuit with New Line

A long-running lawsuit brought by the Tolkien Estate and HarperCollins against New Line Cinema over allegedly unpaid participation interests from the Lord Of The Rings films has been settled, the parties announced today.

“The Trustees regret that legal action was necessary, but are glad that this dispute has been settled on satisfactory terms that will allow the Tolkien Trust properly to pursue its charitable objectives,” said Christopher Tolkien in a statement to the media. “The Trustees acknowledge that New Line may now proceed with its proposed films of The Hobbit.” The filmed adaptations of the Lord Of The Rings trilogy, directed by Peter Jackson, are estimated to have made close to $6 billion at the box office. The suit was brought against New Line and handled by Warner Bros after the company’s absorption into the entertainment titan.

New Line is currently paying a settlement to Peter Jackson as well over unpaid participation profits, as well as moving ahead with two further filmed adaptations of another Tolkien work, The Hobbit, a prequel to the previous three.