LORD OF THE RINGS - TOLKIEN ESTATE CLAMPS DOWN ON ILLEGAL BOOK POSTERS

A website has been ordered to reveal the names of internet users who illegally posted J.R.R. TOLKIEN's novels online. The LORD OF THE RINGS author's estate took site eSnips to court after copies of the epic series and THE HOBBIT began to appear online. The site complied, but a US district court in New York has granted the estate the right to contact those who uploaded the novels, to inform them their activity was "unlawful". Tolkien's estate insists it will not seek harsher penalties, because the posters made no financial gain from putting the books online.