I know nothing of these actual buttons or the exact properties of the Tolkien estate but would point out there could be more than copyright involved here: trademark could cover eg the particular design of the word "Tolkien " on the button eg in a particular font with particular artwork - if you imagine a logo on a teeshirt or on a button and then imagine someone copying it wholesale it doesn't sound so unreasonable to stop that, does it? (You can also get trade mark in particular use of colour scheme , place where mark is found, all sorts of stuff! but unlike copyrt, the protection only applies in rel to a particular class of goods or services in a particuar country, quite restrictively applied.)
Anither angle is that the Tolkien estate thought the button was in some way bringing the works (their (c)) into disrepute and invoking the moral right which accompanies copyright to prevent a protected work being used in such a context - US law doeasn't have moral rights, being only interested in money :) but rest of world decidedly does.
And as yr commenter pointed out, the case cited is actually about publicity rts not copyright at all = whch again has very specific rules and is not found in al countries (thus time some US states have it, UK and most EU does not).
So you see, not so inexplicable. In general legal reportage in Boing Boing tends to the polemic :)
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Date: 2011-03-01 07:59 am (UTC)Anither angle is that the Tolkien estate thought the button was in some way bringing the works (their (c)) into disrepute and invoking the moral right which accompanies copyright to prevent a protected work being used in such a context - US law doeasn't have moral rights, being only interested in money :) but rest of world decidedly does.
And as yr commenter pointed out, the case cited is actually about publicity rts not copyright at all = whch again has very specific rules and is not found in al countries (thus time some US states have it, UK and most EU does not).
So you see, not so inexplicable. In general legal reportage in Boing Boing tends to the polemic :)