Middle-earth Enterprises, the company that owns the worldwide exclusive rights to certain elements of J. R. R. Tolkien’s two most famous literary works: The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, has filed a trademark application for “The Lord of the Rings” in anticipation of future virtual reality-based initiative implementations.

Specifically, the trademark application, submitted to the USPTO on September 15, mentions “virtual reality game services online” and “virtual reality arcade services.”

There are still a lot of details to be sorted out, but this application demonstrates the company’s willingness to embrace new technologies and provide fans with a new way of experiencing games and events.

It is common to hear people speak of virtual reality as the “future normality” of life. As a result, big companies have jumped on the bandwagon and pushed out early initiatives to gain a competitive edge. A good example would be Alibaba, which recently announced a more immersive luxury shopping experience for its customers in the metaverse. Or consider Disney, whose CEO recently stated that Disney+ would most likely become an immersive lifestyle platform, allowing customers to experience park rides in virtual reality.

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