Rings trilogy lawsuit heads to court

Elijah Wood as Frodo Baggins in 'The Lord of the Rings'. Photo / Supplied

A dispute between the heirs of Lord of the Rings author JRR Tolkien and film distributor New Line Cinema may be resolved - at least in part - through a jury trial.

The Tolkien Trust is pursuing New Line over non-payment of royalties it says are owed from profits made by the company from the film trilogy.

Variety magazine reported the trust is seeking $US220 ($NZ354) million in the lawsuit, which was launched in February.

The trilogy's New Zealand director, Peter Jackson, also took a lawsuit against New Line over profits after the trilogy had been released and the case ended up being settled out of court.

The Tolkien Trust is reported to have filed about 5000 pages of documents in its case, including details about the Jackson lawsuit.

The size of the file is only a fraction of what has been filed by New Line.

Variety said a Los Angeles court judge had this week turned down a defence motion that she, instead of a jury, should consider the lawsuit's claims.

The Tolkien trust has maintained that under a 1969 contract it is entitled to 7.5 per cent of gross receipts from the films and related products, minus various costs.

Defence lawyers say a trial could start in October.

- NZPA