The New(ish) Tolkien Estate Copyright FAQ

[Galadriel55]

This is really bad. And it looks bad on the Estate too. It's one thing to protect Tolkien's legacy by, say not allowing another screen adaptation of his unfinished works, and quite another to ban anyone from basically enjoying his works out loud. At first glance it comes across as mean and spiteful. At second glance, it comes across as protecting their income more so than Tolkien's legacy. Because Tolkien's legacy only flourishes from fanfics and music and fan art and all that jazz. Selling the stuff - yeah, I think that's a whole other story, and it's a fairly standard understanding that you can't sell a fanfic without permission. But creating any of that stuff? Petty, spiteful, greedy, unenforceable, quixotic, and frankly the wrong battle against the wrong people. If they keep getting more and more worked up about this stuff, they will eventually die on this hill. I can't see how such a stand can last if it comes to actual legal action (and public backlash, TBH).

I used to see the Estate as a bit of a Treebeard - perhaps a little old-fashioned and slow to react, but earnestly trying to protect the "paper forest". But this makes it sound like it's turned into a Sackville-Baggins.