I hardly think the Tolkien Estate is going to get their knickers in a twist regarding either scholarly debate and/or good-natured RPGing in the LOTR universe...
What's the huge concern? I did a search for both LOTR RPG's and MMORPG's and found a load of websites, with little or no mention of JRR, Tolkien, or Tolkien's estate. Perhaps if lawsuits will be levied, they'll go after Decipher first!
* Sample LOTR RPG:
http://lotrrpg.decipher.com/about.htm
* Sample LOTR MMORPG:
http://www.lotrmmorpg.com/
To tell the truth, I'm not much for roleplaying anymore... *hides grey hairs*