Volokh: Who Really Owns The One Ring of Power?

Of course, no holiday in my family could be complete without long discussions on nerdy topics such as who really legally owned the One Ring of Power from the Lord of the Rings. Via The Volokh Conspiracy:

Property Acquisition in J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings

Literary critics have unaccountably ignored the fact that J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy classic The Lord of the Rings was written for the purpose of explicating the different modes of property acquisition under the common law. Nonetheless, a close examination of the work demonstrates that nearly all the different methods of acquisition are described in detail, and their ethical implications examined. During the course of the story, a variety of characters acquire possession of the Ring of Power using every conceivable legal device.

I. Acquisition by Creation.
The Dark Lord Sauron forges the Ring of Power with the help of knowledge gained from the elven smiths of Eregion. His right to the Ring is thereby based on creation. The claim may be tenuous because it is not clear whether he made illegal use of the elves’ patented production processes (the suspicion of illegality is strengthened by the fact that Sauron made every effort to keep the elves from finding out what he was doing).

II. Acquisition by Conquest.
The Last Alliance of Elves and Men defeats Sauron in battle. The human King Isildur cuts the Ring off of Sauron’s finger (along with the finger itself), thereby acquiring it by right of conquest. Even assuming that the conquest was legitimate, it is not clear whether the law would support an exclusive claim of ownership by Isildur, without any rights simultaneously vesting in the elves (who played an equal role in winning the battle).

III. Acquisition by Find.
On his way home from the war, Isildur is ambushed and killed by orcs. The Ring is lost. Centuries later, it is accidentally found by the hobbit Deagol and his brother Smeagol (AKA Gollum). Deagol claims a property right based on his status as finder.

IV. Acquisition by Adverse Possession.
Gollum kills Deagol and takes possession of the Ring, which he retains for many years. Over time, he comes to think of himself as the real finder of the Ring, and he is strengthened in this opinion by the passage of an enormous length of time. Because Gollum’s possession of the Ring is open and notorious, under a claim of right, and for an extremely lengthy duration far beyond the statutory time period, he may have a claim based on adverse possession. However, Gollum’s claim is defective because a claim of adverse possession cannot succeed if it resulted from a criminal act by the claimant. In addition, adverse possession cannot normally establish title to personal as opposed to real property.

V. Acquisition by Agreement.
Gollum loses the Ring to the hobbit Bilbo Baggins in a riddle contest in which the Ring was a mutually agreed stake.

VI. Acquisition by Gift.
Bilbo gives the Ring to his nephew Frodo Baggins. His intention to give Frodo the ring is clear (though he waivers initially), and he hands the ring over in person, thereby effecting proper delivery.

VII. Temporary Acquisition by Necessity.
While Frodo lies unconscious, his servant Sam Gamgee temporarily takes possession of the Ring in order to save both of their lives from imminent danger.

VIII. Attempted Reacquisition by Self-help.
After Frodo regains the Ring from Sam, he plans to destroy it by throwing it into the fires of Mt. Doom. Both Sauron (who believes that he is the rightful owner) and Gollum (ditto) attempt to get the Ring back before Frodo can destroy it. They both resort to illegal self-help remedies rather than bringing the appropriate common law action and a preliminary injunction against destruction of the Ring before the case can be heard. Gollum succeeds in regaining the Ring from Frodo, but falls into the fire, destroying both the Ring and himself.

Moral of the Story
Much trouble could have been avoided if only the parties to this extended property dispute had properly followed the law of acquisition

Based on my own readings of property law and some guesses on other laws, I would rule that the One Ring of Power belongs to the elven smiths of nation of Eregion, who used patented processes to create the One Ring, and thereafter had an employee (Sauren) use those processes on his own to create in secret his own product. It is unclear who legally inherited the property and rights of the nation of Eregion when it was destroyed, but its survivors and descendants went to Rivendell, Blue Havens, and Lothlórien, who are ruled by Elrond, Círdan, and Galadriel, and so it is my ruling that the One Ring properly and legally belonged to one of those three elves. The claim on the One Ring was never abandoned by them- after learning of its whereabouts, they always sought to recover it. And all subsequent actions thereafter were merely the trading of stolen property.

Yet two of those three had an opportunity to reclaim the ring- indeed, it was offered to them and they turned it down and stated that the ring was indeed Frodo's. Based on this reasoning, I would rule that Frodo did indeed have legal ownership of the ring after that until its destruction. So in reality, the Lord of the Rings was simply a story of a disgruntled employee who took company property and refused to give it back until said property was destroyed.

For more information on the history of the One Ring, see The Lord of the Rings: 50th Anniversary, One Vol. Edition, The Annotated Hobbit, and The Silmarillion.