The current FAQ appears February 26th this year, as a new page.

The previous FAQ sat here, and its policy on fanfic was:

~

Is it possible to write stories that are set in Middle-earth?

The short answer is most definitely NO!

We understand only too well the fascination and enjoyment that the world of Middle-earth can bring, but the fact remains that this is an imaginary world, created by the author on his own terms and in his own right. So, however tempting, to publish this type of fan-fiction for personal or commercial purposes, even online, is absolutely not authorized.

In the era of the Internet, with people selling ‘homemade’ literary works on websites all over the world, it must be unambiguously stated that the Tolkien Estate has never authorized the commercialisation or distribution of such material, and has no intention of doing so.

~

... which is the same thing as the current one, but in less lawyerly speak.

The "short answer" phrasing is relevant, as is the repeated use of "authorized". They do not AUTHORIZE it, but what they're actually CONCERNED about is commercialisation.

That FAQ was in place from at least March 2015. Prior to that, it sat here, though at various times it went missing from their site design. That version spans four pages, and on page 2, in the context of The Children of Hurin, says:

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Can I / someone else write / complete / develop my / their own version of one of these unfinished tales ? (or any others)

The simple answer is NO.

You are of course free to do whatever you like for your own private enjoyment, but there is no question of any commercial exploitation of this form of "fan-fiction".

Also, in these days of the Internet, and privately produced collectors’ items for sale on eBay, we must make it as clear as possible that the Tolkien Estate never has, and never will authorize the commercialisation or distribution of any works of this type.

The Estate exists to defend the integrity of J.R.R. Tolkien’s writings. Christopher Tolkien's work as his father’s literary executor has always been to publish as faithfully and honestly as possible his father's completed and uncompleted works, without adaptation or embellishment.

~

So: no, you cannot sell it, and the Estate does not authorize it.

That goes back to 2007, and appears to be the earliest version of the site that wasn't just a splash page.

So: from a fanfic perspective, all that's changed is the language. The repeated invocation of TOLKIEN as a trademark, and the explicit statement that you can't use the Elvish languages, is new. (The previous FAQ just directs you to the permissions page, which doesn't say anything about it.)

hS

Drip.

Drip.

Drip.

I open my eyes and look around blearily. Last thing I remember, I was sitting at my computer, just having published my latest Lord of the Rings fanfic (The Tousel-Headed League, my second Hemlock Holmes and June Whitson story); now I'm in a dark room, tied to a chair, listening to the sound of water dripping from the damp ceiling.

"Hello?" I call, my voice echoing unpleasantly. "What's going on?" I think for a moment. "Is this OFUM?" I ask hesitantly. "It seemed much nicer in the fics..."

Click. A white light fills the room. I cringe away, eyes watering, trying to give them time to adjust.

"Mr... Huinesoron," says a man, in the most perfect Received Pronunciation English accent imaginable. "That name is not doing you any favours."

"I know it's not grammatically correct..." I raise my head, blinking against the light. There are three of them - two men and one woman, all dressed in what looks very much like black leather. "This is OFUM, right?"

The woman sniffs. "We already have Miss So-Called Cam in custody," she says, in exactly the same accent as the man. "I suggest you worry about yourself."

"Believe me, I am." I swallow, and try to shift my hands against my bonds. "Listen, what's this all- who are you?"

The woman folds her arms across her chest. I see that she is holding a black horse-crop in one hand. "I... am TOLKIEN," she says.

I stare. "Um. You don't look like Tolkien?"

The whip slashes across my cheek; if the chair hadn't been fastened to the floor, I would have toppled over. "Do not speak The Name!" the woman snarls. "It is trademarked!"

"Fine! Fine!" I yelp, my face burning with pain. "You're Tol- um, that. Fine! But why am I here?"

The man who spoke before steps forward. He has a scabbard on his belt, with a long and ominous looking sword poking out of it. "You are here to answer for your crimes against the Tolkien Estate," he says, looming forward.

I can't help myself. "You'd better watch yourself," I say, "she doesn't like people saying that name."

The man smiles coldly. "But of course I can say it," he says. "I am TOLKIEN."

The third man, slighter and nervous-looking, holds his hand up. "I'm TOLKIEN too," he says in the very same accent.

"And I'm Alpharius," I blurt out. The whip cracks down on my other cheek, and I cringe.

"This is no laughing matter!" the woman snaps. She glances over her shoulder, then adds, "Nor will you find our colleagues at Games Workshop as forgiving as we are."

"As lenient," the nervous man hisses. "You don't want The Mouse to hear you quoting Star Wars."

"They are American," the woman says dismissively. "I claim... 'fair use'."

I'm still trying to put this all together into something that makes the blindest bit of sense. "Is this... is this about my fanfic?"

The first man growls, a deep and vicious sound. "Fans," he rumbles. "Fiction. As if you know the meaning of either word."

"Er." I squirm against the ropes again. "I think I do, actually?"

"Fiction," the man says, leaning in, "is what TOLKIEN owns. Fans are a viru-" He hesitates, glancing back at the men at the back. "A bacterium," he amends. "Your so-called 'stories' are theft. And it will no longer be tolerated."

I really want to raise a hand, like the naughty child in class. "Which stories are we talking about?"

The whip cracks down again, and my ear blazes with pain. "All of them!" the woman declares. "You write about The Shire(c), Gondor(c), Hobbits(c), rings(c), good versus evil(c)... it is an intolerable violation of the rights of TOLKIEN!"

"I don't-" She raises the whip again, and I cower in my chair. "All right!" I squeak. "I get it!"

"You don't get it," the man at the back speaks up. "Only TOLKIEN is permitted to receive it(c). That's the point."

"Okay." I'll say anything at this point. "You want me to stop writing Tolk-" The whip comes up again. "Sorry! Um, fanfic about Middle-" The larger man leans forward threateningly. "No! I meant... you want me to stop doing... the thing that I was doing. And I get that. And I will. And I'm sorry."

The three straighten up and look at each other. "Well, TOLKIEN?" says the burly man. "What do you think?"

"I don't like it, TOLKIEN," says the woman. "He gave in too easily."

"But we have a long list to work through," the slight man - TOLKIEN, I guess - says, stepping between them. "I say we hand him over; if he dares defame TOLKIEN by mentioning our property ever again, we can bring him back in."

"Agreed," the other man says, and after a moment, "agreed," the woman concurs. The three turn without a word and walk out of the room. The last one out reached sideways and clicks the switch, leaving me in darkness again.

"Um." I clear my throat, hearing the echoes again. "Hello? I'm still in here?"

There is a rustling sound, like something very large slithering across the concrete floor. Then, very close to my ear, I hear a hissing, rattling breath.

"Hello, Huinessssoron," whispers a sillibant, serpentine voice. "Let'ssss talk about a little sssstory called 'Harry Potter and the Sssssswisss Army Broom'..."

---

Games Workshop don't appreciate that sort of thing. Serpent!Rowling comes by way of The Midnight Society; I've no idea what her current views on fanfic are, but I figure she'd see this scenario and just NEED to stick her scaly head in.

hS

it's about respecting the feelings of the original creator. Even if it's legal to write twice-removed fics in a quarantined continuum, we still don't allow them for this reason.

I can grudgingly respect the wishes of an individual, living author who's afraid that freely permitting fanworks could result in them losing the rights to their IP, even if I don't actually agree with them.

NEVER will I EVER support shutting down all fan expression in favor of protecting a corporate entity that's been profiting big-time thanks to the very same fan-love they're trying to quash. My feelings about this are unprintable on a PG-13 forum.

~Neshomeh

I apologize for making this seem like a mountain if it is truly a molehill. I did particapate (a little) in the Discord dicussion and carried my interpretation over to the Board. So I apologize, again, for that.

Again, my words on the subject of Tolkien materials should be taken with a grain of salt since I haven't read LOTR and barely remember The Hobbit.

-kA

(Also not meaning to sound mad or belittling, sorry if it comes off as such.)