Kalem Co. v. Harper Bros.

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Kalem Co. v. Harper Bros.
Seal of the United States Supreme Court
Supreme Court of the United States
Argued October 31 – November 1, 1911
Decided November 13, 1911
Full case nameKalem Co. v. Harper Bros.
Citations222 U.S. 55 (more)
32 S. Ct. 20; 56 L. Ed. 92
Holding
Producing a motion picture based on a dramatic work can be copyright infringement. The producer of the motion picture is liable even they are not the exhibitor. This does not extend to a restriction of the dramatic work's ideas; it is a recognition of the author's monopoly powers granted by Congress.
Court membership
Chief Justice
Edward D. White
Associate Justices
Joseph McKenna · Oliver W. Holmes Jr.
William R. Day · Horace H. Lurton
Charles E. Hughes · Willis Van Devanter
Joseph R. Lamar

Kalem Co. v. Harper Bros., 222 U.S. 55 (1911), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court held producing a motion picture based on a dramatic work can be copyright infringement. The producer of the motion picture is liable even they are not the exhibitor. This does not extend to a restriction of the dramatic work's ideas; it is a recognition of the author's monopoly powers granted by Congress.[1]

The case involved a 1907 film adaptation of the 1880 novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ by Lew Wallace.

References[]

  1. ^ Kalem Co. v. Harper Bros. Co., 222 U.S. 55 (1911)

External links[]

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