Also, why is Tolkien's estate seemingly twiddling its thumbs while all these companies use its intellectual property? Or does the estate get licensing fees?

They have no claim, unless you create another literary character or something in the likeness of the original character. Naming a company after a fictional character is not an issue.

I didn't know that and I find it surprising.

Sort of. Fictional character names are just words... unless these words are used in trade, at which point they become trademarks.

And in this context: "Sauron" is a registered trademark. https://trademarks.justia.com/772/04/sauron-77204394.html

This status doesn't necessarily give the owner absolute control of the mark, but it can limit the ways in which others use it in trade.

Things would be this way whether "Sauron" was ever the name of a fictional character or not. The use as a character name by the trademark owner neither implicitly enhances nor diminishes the trademark's integrity.

...and geez haven't these people read any other books?!

>build what they envisioned as a military-grade home security system for tech elites

It must be feel so good lording over the plebs as a fiery eye.

Yeah, I have a feeling rebranding might be in their future. As one of the somewhat rare crossover people who are both technical but with some marketing chops, it never ceases to surprise me how branding can elude some people who are technically brilliant.

Right, right, because Sauron's home had really great security. :/