Tolkien estate makes Alta. camp drop name

In J.R.R. Tolkien's epic The Lord of the Rings, Rivendell provides a "Middle-earth" refuge for hobbits fleeing their enemy, the Ringwraiths.

Untilrecently,Bragg Creek, west of Calgary, also had a Rivendell, a summer refuge forkids from the city.

But theBragg Creek Community Association was forced to rename the day camp afterlawyers for Tolkien's estate decided it didn't like the use of the trademarked name.

TheU.K.-based lawyers sentthe community association acease and desist letter.

"While our clients do not believe that you intended to infringe their intellectual property rights, you will understand that they have an obligation to protect these valuable rights and carefully to preserve the integrity of the Tolkien works," the letter reads.

Community program director Peggy Rupert said the estate's objection surprised her.

"It was just kind of funny," shesaid. "I actually find it kind of amusing. I've kept the letter as a memento."

Thecommunity association adopted the fictional name Rivendell for its summer camp several years agoat the height of Lord of the Ringsmovie trilogy's popularity. The camp even featured Lord of the Rings -themed age groups, dubbed "dwarves, hobbits and elves."

Name was getting stale anyway

Rupert said the estate's lawyers recently objected, politely asking the community association to refrain from using the entertainment giant's trademark.

"I guess they found it on our web page," she said.

Rupert concedes the legal request provided what she calls a "kick in the pants"to update the summer camp's theme.

"It needed a change anyway," she said. "We had already been talking about changing it up and making it fresher because it's been the same thing for a few years."

The camp formerly known as Rivendell is now calledCamp in the Creek. Instead of "dwarves, hobbits and elves,"kidswill be grouped as "squirrels, bobcats and grizzlies"