"The Hobbit" is clear to proceed! The heirs of J.R.R. Tolkien and New Line Cinema announced a settlement of a lawsuit between the two parties in a joint press release today, Tuesday Sept 8, 2009.

The lawsuit had sought to block the release of two upcoming prequels based on Tolkien's novel, "The Hobbit." Tolkien's heirs claimed the studio owed it millions in profits from the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy which were released between 2001 and 2003. The terms of the settlement were not released, but it appears a major beneficiary will be The Tolkien Trust a charity organization.