Stephen Fry defends Hobbit pub in Southampton

14-Mar-2012 - Last updated on 11-Mar-2017 at 19:14 GMT

British actor Stephen Fry has leapt to the defence of a pub in Southampton called ‘The Hobbit’ which has been threatened with legal action by lawyers in Hollywood.

The pub has been accused of copyright infringement by lawyers representing the Saul Zaentz Company (SZC) in California, which owns the rights to a number of brands associated with author JRR Tolkien, including the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings.

The Hobbit pub has traded by that name for 20 years, and has a picture of such popular Tolkien characters as Frodo and Gandalf on its signs, cocktails named after the characters on its menu, and a photo of actor Elijah Wood on its ‘One Card to Bind Them All’ loyalty card.

However, a letter from SZC told the pub to remove all reference to the characters. The company’s website says: “The US company’s website says: “Middle-earth Enterprises owns 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.

“We have produced and licensed films, stage productions and merchandise based on these Tolkien works for more than 35 years.”

The pub’s landlady Stella Mary Roberts believes rebranding and renaming the pub would cost her thousands of pounds. “I can’t fight Hollywood,” she told the BBC.

Fry, who is currently in New Zealand filming the two-part Hobbit film with director Peter Jackson, used his Twitter page to voice his displeasure. He tweeted: “Honestly, @savethehobbit, sometimes I’m ashamed of the business I’m in. What pointless, self-defeating bullying.”

The pub’s Facebook campaign has now attracted over 13,000 followers.

A spokesperson for Punch Taverns, which owns the pub’s freehold, said: “We are aware of the situation and are currently in talks with our legal team.”