Originally Posted by MKahrl

I misunderstood your post and I should not have. You were quite clear and understandable.

We don't really know what it costs for RBW to license the name but it might be reasonable for a company unrelated to the books or movies. Presumably Rivendell Mountain Works did the same during the first upsurge in Tolkien interest in the early seventies. RBW preceded the LOTR movies by seven years.