[SILLY] Just for fun: _Lord of the Rings_ as property fact pattern
Dennis Brennan
Imagine Tolkien's classic _Lord of the Rings_ posed as a property class
fact pattern.
Sauron creates the One Ring out of his own materials. He then goes
to war with the Elves and Numenoreans. Gil-Galad kills Sauron during
the war, and Isildur takes the ring from Sauron's dead hand. Isildur
is later killed by some orcs, and the ring falls into a river, where
it remains for more than twenty-one years, during which time Sauron
is still dead.
A hobbit named Deagol finds the ring, and his cousin Smeagol kills Deagol
and seizes the ring. Smeagol then changes his name to Gollum and moves
into a cave in the mountain, taking the ring with him. He uses the ring
to commit various crimes against the local orcs. During this time
Sauron comes back to life and begins to make good-faith efforts to recover
his ring.
Bilbo finds the ring in Gollum's cave and pockets it. Then he wins some sort
of dubious riddle game with Gollum and claims to have won the ring as a prize,
although Gollum calls Bilbo a thief. Gollum proceeds to track the ring until
the end of the story, making good-faith efforts to recover it.
Bilbo entrusts the ring to Frodo, upon Gandalf's advice. Frodo, upon the
direction of the Council of Elrond, intends to destroy the ring. He
proceeds to carry the ring into Mordor (except for one brief period during
which his servant Sam bears the ring).
While standing at the lip of the pit of flame, Frodo puts the ring on his
finger. Gollum bites off the ring-finger and falls into the pit. Gollum
dies and the ring is destroyed.
Legally speaking, whose ring was it at each stage? Does it matter what
jurisdiction Middle Earth is in?
David Harvey
of considering the issues in any detail, but here goes
dj...@woodlawn.uchicago.edu (Dennis Brennan) wrote:
>A fun little problem a friend and I came up with over lunch at law school:
>Imagine Tolkien's classic _Lord of the Rings_ posed as a property class
>fact pattern.
>Sauron creates the One Ring out of his own materials. He then goes
>to war with the Elves and Numenoreans. Gil-Galad kills Sauron during
>the war, and Isildur takes the ring from Sauron's dead hand. Isildur
>is later killed by some orcs, and the ring falls into a river, where
>it remains for more than twenty-one years, during which time Sauron
>is still dead.
1. Lets get the facts into perspective. Sauron in fact learned the art
of Ring-making from Celebrimbor of Hollin. Given that he deluded the
elves into revealing their secrets, maybe they would have an
intellectual property claim (or a patent claim, assuming they made an
application)
2. Doesn't Isildur come by the Ring as a spoil of war?
3. Remember too that the Ring has a mind of its own. Thus, Isildur did
not willingly relinquish it. As an heirloom of his house, would it not
pass to his heirs and ultimately to Aragorn? Aragorn at the Council of
Elrond agrees to the Destruction of the Ring and authorises Frodo to
bear it and undertake that task.
>A hobbit named Deagol finds the ring, and his cousin Smeagol kills Deagol
>and seizes the ring. Smeagol then changes his name to Gollum and moves
>into a cave in the mountain, taking the ring with him. He uses the ring
>to commit various crimes against the local orcs. During this time
>Sauron comes back to life and begins to make good-faith efforts to recover
>his ring.
Good faith efforts?!?? - like sending out the Nazgul to terrorise and
intimidate. Witness their actions at Farmer Maggots, at Crickhollow
and at the Prancing Pony at Bree, not to mention naked weapons at
Weathertop in circumstances that could only consitute armed robbery,
together with wounding with a supernatural weapon that is tantamount
to poisoning or disabling with a drug - witness Frodo's weakness of
will until the incident at the Ford of Bruinen.
>Bilbo finds the ring in Gollum's cave and pockets it. Then he wins some sort
>of dubious riddle game with Gollum and claims to have won the ring as a prize,
>although Gollum calls Bilbo a thief. Gollum proceeds to track the ring until
>the end of the story, making good-faith efforts to recover it.
>Bilbo entrusts the ring to Frodo, upon Gandalf's advice. Frodo, upon the
>direction of the Council of Elrond, intends to destroy the ring. He
>proceeds to carry the ring into Mordor (except for one brief period during
>which his servant Sam bears the ring).
>While standing at the lip of the pit of flame, Frodo puts the ring on his
>finger. Gollum bites off the ring-finger and falls into the pit. Gollum
>dies and the ring is destroyed.
>Legally speaking, whose ring was it at each stage? Does it matter what
>jurisdiction Middle Earth is in?
I thin it would. I am not familiar with the concept of "good faith
efforts" to recover property although I have an idea what it may mean.
>--
Nice problems and lots of fun - a more detailed consideration may
follow.
David Harvey
******************************************************
Judge David Harvey Ph:(0064)(9)6306201
District Court FAX:(0064)(9)2765997
New Zealand e-mail: djh...@iconz.co.nz
"nemo tenetur seipsum prodere"
Bruce Fenton
The New Yorker (I think!) in which Mr.
Wilde E. Coyote was suing Acme company
for the manufacture of faulty goods which
caused him pain and suffering and affected
his employment as a professional predator
and his ability to catch the Roadrunner.
If anyone has the article I would love a copy.
Bruce Fenton
http://www.af.com/af.html