03 February 2023 , 13:46
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A refuse firm called Lord of the Bins has been forced to abandon its name - by lawyers acting for Lord of the Rings.
Lawyers for a top legal team have accused the waste collection firm ran by two men of riding on the reputation of the world-renowned franchise.
The company, operated by Nick Lockwood and Dan Walker, has been told to take action immediately.
They have been ordered to remove the name which they trade under plus any website information relating to the name in addition to their slogan 'One Ring to Remove It All'
Lawyers who represent Middle Earth Enterprises, which has stage, film and merchandising rights to The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, contacted the pair.
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Their Lord of the Bins firm, which is based in Brighton, collects home, building and office waste in the area and and East and West Sussex.
The two-man waste clearance firm carries the humorous slogans (Lord of the Bins/Facebook)On its Facebook page the pair write: "A few of you already know but we thought now is the right time to let you all know that Lord Of The Bins is unfortunately facing the prospect of having rename and rebrand the company!
"Middle earth enterprises (lord of the rings franchise) has sent, and is enforcing a cease and desist, claiming we’re in breach of their trademarks.
"They claim customers could confuse that were endorsed, by or affiliated to Lord Of The Rings…..anyone in their right mind know we’re a completely separate and non-competitive business.
"Regardless of what we and our customers think, we now have the prospect of spending thousands of pounds and effort rebranding, to appease a multi billion pound company.
"We will survive this storm and continue providing a great service for our city, whatever our name."
The refuse firm was told dump its name by lawyers (Lord of the Bins/Facebook)
The firm's vans say 'One Ring to Remove It All' (Lord of the Bins/Facebook)It is reported that a letter was given to them on January 18 from Simmons & Simmons, which acts for the Middle Earth Enterprises, who has the worldwide rights The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy.
The books, films and stage performances of the series famously written by J.R.R. Tolkien are worth millions.
Nick, 36, told the Sun: “If we don’t turn up on time, no one’s going to chuck their Lord of the Rings DVD in the bin.
"And if they bring out a box-office smash, I don’t think more people are going to ring up for waste collection. It’s just bully-boy tactics.”
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But MailOnline reports they insisted that they "just wanted to make people smile" and "want both creative companies to live on together."
They say they are just trying to make a living and question whether there will be a will confusion between their company name and Lord of the Rings.
Mr Lockwood told MailOnline: "We are two guys who grew up together and went to school together in Brighton. We are self funded and can't afford a court battle.
"We are facing the prospect of having to completely rebrand. For a small business it could have a detrimental affect moving forward."
He said rebranding could cost the firm more than £5,000, but the impact on the firm will last for longer.
The legal communication by letter reportedly says: “You have made use of names and slogan highly similar to the Lord of the Rings.
“Your activity amounts to an infringement of our client’s trademark rights.”
It also says it reserves the right to “seek damages” over the “unlawful activity”.