Quote:
Originally Posted by davem
I think with Tolkien 'influence' always has to be in quotes. He basically lifted images, characters and whple scenes -.often without even bothering to change the names (cf the dwarf names in TH). If another author tried that kind of thing with Tolkien's writings the Estate would have a legal lynch mob out. I don't have a problem with that kind of 'borrowing' personally, I just find it hypocritical of the Estate given that far, far more than most authors Tolkien drew on the works of other minds.
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Well, who holds the copyright of a folk tale? I'm not an expert when it comes to the question of who published what and when and how, but it seems to me that borrowing from folklore and myths doesn't infringe on any copyright. It's not like they
belong to anyone.