Trademarks aren't copyright or patents. The entire point of trademarks is to identify a brand. That said, I don't really understand trademarking LOTR at all, it seems like it's copyright, but IP laws are used so broadly now to just stifle things that who TF knows, and I have no idea about NZ law.

Lord of the Rings has nothing to do with food or chicken wings trucks, so seems like it shouldn't apply. Usually trademarks are in the same industry, so you wouldn't want someone else writing a knock off series of books called Lord of the Rings and trademark would help there.

That said, the other thing that seems suspicious to me is trademarks in the US are pretty specific - it has to be the exact wording which is why so many companies "mispell" the names, well that and in the US you often can't trademark a generic word (though Apple threw a wrench in that one). Or the graphic design has to be extremely close.

I don't think when a person dies should have much to do with it, if anything. Set a time from when the work is created, not when the person dies.

I hate dead hands lol

Edit: especially when they don't even really work off of a wish or command from the deceased

I agree that the Funko Pop example cheapens their property. Doesn't seem that they care.

And of course it's not about just one wing truck. Estates like these are not innovating and are not holding air shows or wing competitions. And unless they're stealing trade secrets of making wing sauces or the intricacies of hosting aerial events, I say let the estate compete in those areas or even choose to sponsor these already established entities who've entered the market before the estate did anything with their IP.

Yes, but trademarks only apply to a single industry in the US.

I could open a coffee shop called Ford Motor Company, and Ford couldn't do a damn thing about it.

Not sure how it works in NZ, though.

Well, I'm only familiar with US law on the subject. NZ might see things differently.

But in the US, dilution of a famous mark doesn't necessarily mean confusion. For example, you couldn't use Apple's famous white apple logo even for a company that had nothing to do with technology.