JRR Token’s official website and social media channels got deleted following the complaint, but an NFT collection inspired by the fantasy novel is still available on OpenSea.
A cryptocurrency project inspired by the work of fantasy literature written by J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, suddenly closed this week after the author heirs took legal action against it.
The Tolkien Estate, a legal organization that manages the heritage of the legendary writer, including the copyrights and copyright of his works, filed a complaint about the crypto project with the World Intellectual Property Organization forum worldwide intellectual property policy.
The Tolkien Estate is currently alleging infringement of trademark rights
The legal organization that defends Tolkien and his work get led by a group of lawyers together with the will of Christopher Tolkien, the author’s son, who died in 2020. Deceased in 1973, J.R.R. Tolkien is a legendary writer recognized worldwide for his contribution to fantasy literature through titles such as The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, and The Silmarillion.
The Unofficial Fantastic Cryptocurrency
Released in August of this year, JRR Token was a cryptocurrency project with a theme with many references to the writer’s work. From its name to the image of an elven garden, everything about the initiative seemed inspired by Tolkien. The cryptocurrency’s motto said it was “the only token that governs them all.”
JRR Token (JRR) is a digital currency based on the Binance Smart Chain (BSC) blockchain that brought generous rewards to its holders. It could get traded on the PancakeSwap exchange.
The project even had a promotional video starring Billy Boyd, the actor who played Peregrin Tuk, better known as Pippin, in the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy. In the video, Boyd made several clever word games related to the hobbit and suggested that the token was going to the moon.
JRR Token’s official Twitter account, which got deleted, had shared the video in August alongside the following message. The Boingboing news outlet quoted at the time.
In general, like many other similar cryptocurrency projects, JRR Token promised many financial features that may sound promising, especially to those less experienced in the market; and he had a white paper or technical document, somewhat confusing and raised some doubts.
Tolkien’s Heirs Stopped the Project
After a few months of life, the project reached its end after advocates declared that the token infringed on copyright. This week, the legal organization Tolkien Estate argued before WIPO that the product disrupted its trademark rights in the name of J.R.R. Tolkien.
The domain name got designed to mislead Internet users into believing that this and the website it refers to have some legal business relationships with the writer.
Attorneys for Matthew Jensen, the creator, responded to allegations that the project intended to refer to a unique digital currency rather than the deceased author’s work. They also noted that the domain name brought to mind J.R.R. Tolkien more as a parody than an act of bad faith.
By: Jenson Nuñez
