JRR Token Crypto Blocked By Tolkien's Lawyers

Lawyers representing the estate of deceased world-renowned author of "The Lord of The Ring" and linguist John Ronald Reuel Tolkien took legal action against the creator of the JRR Token JRR/USD token.

What Happened: According to a Tuesday Law360 report, the Tolkien Estate reached a settlement with Florida-based developer Matthew Jensen over JRR Token. The token launched in August this year and according to blockchain data it is only held by 150 people — so not many will be affected by the ruling.

Jensen promised to shut down the project and delete any content that infringes the estate’s trademark rights to the J.R.R. Tolkien name and any The Lord of The Rings or The Hobbit intellectual property. Following the settlement, the JRR Token’s Twitter account, YouTube channel and website have since been deleted.

The writer's estate lawyer Steve Maier said the case is a "particularly flagrant case of infringement,” and that he is “pleased that it has been concluded on satisfactory terms.”

The development follows Billy Boyd — the actor who played Pippin in The Lord Of The Rings — endorsing the token in a 40-second YouTube cameo on Aug. 4.

Jensen's lawyers said JRR Token stood for “Journey through Risk to Reward,” and it was chosen simply because the “jrrcrypto.com” domain was unavailable. Still, Tolkien's estate pointed out that the website dedicated to the token included images of rings, Hobbit holes and a wizard closely resembling Gandalf.