[chc]

I don't see what that has to do with anything. Public domain works can still be commercially exploited. The only difference is that LOTR wouldn't have sat in preproduction hell for years because of squabbles over the rights. Peter Jackson could have gone ahead and made his very fine movies — instead, copyright almost got him forced out of The Hobbit.

[MessagePad2100]

Another possibility: Instead of squabbling with the publisher/Tolkien Trust, Michael Bay could have simultaneously made a movie as well to compete with Jackson's vision of the movie.

[chc]

I don't understand your point. If you mean he could have made a LOTR movie, I still don't see how that's relevant, given that:

1. That wouldn't happen, for a large number of reasons.

2. That happens even in the current system (see "The Exorcist: The Beginning" for an example in the movie world).

3. Michael Bay already had movies in competition with the LOTR franchise — copyright does nothing to prevent that. It just requires that some people distantly related to people who paid some money to Tolkien get paid if you want to use the LOTR names and characters.

[davidcuddeback]

Nothing wrong with competition. Let the makers of the better movie prosper.

[crystalis]

http://www.cracked.com/article_15028_attack-clones-suspiciou... ?