Hobbit Hobbit Hobbits are a fictional, diminutive, humanoid race who inhabit the lands of Middle-earth in J. R. R. Tolkien’s fiction. They are also referred to as Halflings. Hobbits first appeared in the novel "The Hobbit", whose titular hobbit is the protagonist Bilbo Baggins. The novel "The Lord of the Rings" includes as major characters the hobbits Frodo Baggins, Samwise Gamgee, Peregrin Took, and Meriadoc Brandybuck, as well as several other minor hobbit characters. Hobbits are also briefly mentioned in "The Silmarillion" and "Unfinished Tales". According to the author in the prologue to "The Lord of the Rings", hobbits are "relatives"
Copyright protection for fictional characters In India, recourse can be had to trademark law which recognises that fictional characters enjoy goodwill, and provides relief for cases of ‘character merchandising’. Character merchandising has been defined as involving the exploitation of fictional characters by licensing these fictional characters in the case of "Star India Private" "Limited vs Leo Burnett (India) Private Ltd". A prerequisite for character merchandising is that the character to be merchandised must have gained some public recognition, independently of the original product in which it appears. In this case, the characters in the plaintiff’s were found not have acquired an independent recognition as a