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Phoney bling ring pinged by Tolkien's kin

Oz court sour on unlicensed Sauron 'One Ring'

A Melbourne man has to hand over his entire stock of “The One Ring” knock-offs to the Tolkien Estate, after losing a copyright case.

The Federal Court in Melbourne earlier this month awarded a summary judgement against one Alexander Saltalamacchia over a line of rings he sold on his own Website and on eBay Australia.

Saltalamacchia had tried to skirt the law by inserting a gap into the “Black Speech” inscription otherwise copied from Lord of the Rings, but justice Beach was having none of it.

In a summary judgement, he found that the knock-offs infringed “a substantial part” of the inscription, and offered them for sale at this no-longer active eBay store.

Saltalamacchia has also been restrained from selling the products without a license from the ferociously vigilant Tolkien Estate, and has to hand over all products already made, plus any promotional material.

Damages will be heard at a later date – once Saltalamacchia has handed over accounts to the court demonstrating how much of the Sauron bling he sold.

Saltalamacchia represented himself in court over the phone. You might say he rang it in. ®

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