LOS ANGELES (CN) - The studios behind "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy and "The Hobbit" sued a production company that specializes in knockoffs to try to stop release of its straight-to-DVD movie, "Age of the Hobbits."
Warner Bros. Entertainment, New Line Cinema, New Line Productions, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, and The Saul Zaentz Co. sued Global Asylum aka The Asylum of Burbank, in Federal Court.
The major studios say Asylum intends to release its low-budget movie just three days before filmmaker Peter Jackson's first "Hobbit" movie opens in the United States, on Dec. 14.
The Asylum hopes to profit from "consumer confusion," get a "free ride on the worldwide advertising campaign" and "divert customers and potential customers away" from the major studios' film, according to the complaint.
"The Asylum's advertising for its low-budget knockoff also has been and is confusingly similar to advertising for and images from the plaintiffs' copyrighted films and trademarked products, including the font and style in which the titles appear and the overall look and feel of the images depicted in the artwork and packaging," the 35-page complaint states.
