Southampton pub threatened for "copyright infringement"

A matter of grave importance, given the quirkiness of this particular pub in Southampton, the BBC is reporting that "US lawyers" are threatening The Hobbit pub in Southampton for copyright infringement — although frankly this would seem better suited to a trade mark action on the face on it — by virtue of its name.

The claimants allege that they have "exclusive worldwide rights to motion picture, merchandising, stage and other rights in certain literary works of JRR Tolkien including The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit" — although whether this precludes a pub using its name, or the image of one of the actors on their loyalty card (perhaps more indicative of copyright infringement) is perhaps more questionable...