A Brighton, southern England, garbage company called “Lord of the Bins” has been ordered by lawyers to change its name after being accused of trademark infringement. The two-person waste collection company was contacted by Middle-earth Enterprises, which now holds the worldwide rights to JRR Tolkien’s works, such as The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy.
The Dumpster Lord Company needs to change its name
“Lord of the Bins” is created by two men Nick Lockwood and Dan Walker. Their company collects household, construction and office waste in East Sussex and West Sussex. The men received a cease-and-desist notice after they were found to be infringing on Tolkien’s known franchise trademarks.
In addition to changing their company name and website, they were forced to abandon their advertising slogan: “One ring to remove it all”.
Nick Lockwood, 36, in an interview with the British tabloid “” jokingly said that the existing name of their company in no way spoils the image of the franchise: “If we don’t show up on time, no one will throw the Lord of the Rings DVD in the bin “And if they have another box office hit, I don’t think more people will call us for waste collection. It’s just a bully tactic.”
He also added that the name change would cost his company a lot of money:
Now we face the prospect of spending thousands of pounds and a lot of brand rebranding just to appease a billion-pound company. We will weather this storm and continue to provide great services to our city, whatever our name may be
However, in the legal letter received by “Lord of the Bins” we can read: “You have used names and slogan very similar to »Lord of the Rings«. Your action is tantamount to infringing our client’s trademark rights.” Middle-earth Enterprises’ attorneys also wrote in a letter to the company’s owners that they reserved the right to “claim damages” for “unlawful activity.”
However, the waste management company is not going to fight for it. The other owner, Dan Walker, 36, said: “We can’t afford to fight them. We’re just trying to make people smile and make a living.”
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Source: Gazeta
Bruce is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment . He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
