From advising the writers of Spitting Image to the directorship of a Murdoch-owned company, HarperCollins UK GC Simon Dowson-Collins has had a varied career. His next challenge, he tells Alex Newman: confronting the enormous pressures facing the publishing industry
‘Epic’ neatly sums up Simon Dowson-Collins’ most pressing current legal battle. The UK general counsel of publisher HarperCollins, which along with the estate of JRR Tolkien jointly owns the rights to the Lord of the Rings trilogy, is suing Warner Bros for $80m (£50m) for featuring the series’ characters on slot machines. The film studio has counter-sued, alleging a breach of contract.
