In a world, lost before time, lived an ancient race of tiny people... "'Hobbit' Lawyers Threaten 'Age of the Hobbits' Movie (Exclusive)".
The word “Hobbits” has referred only to Bilbo Baggins and his bretheren since the Tolkien novel was first published in 1937, right? Not so, argues Asylum, whose lawyers have told New Line that the word is fair game because the Hobbits featured in Age of the Hobbits refer instead to an early hominid species.
"Age of the Hobbits is about the real-life human subspecies, Homo Floresiensis, discovered in 2003 in Indonesia which have been uniformly referred to as 'Hobbits' in the scientific community," a rep for The Asylum tells THR in a statement. "As such, the use of the term 'Hobbits' is protected under the legal doctrines of nominal and traditional fair use. Indeed, a simple Google search of Hobbits and archaeology reveals dozens of articles containing the term "Hobbit(s)" in the title."
Yes, that's what paleoanthropology is really for: Making the world safe for B movie producers.
