A Star Is Born

(1937)   Tags: United Artists

Classic Film Museum, Inc. v. Warner Bros., Inc.

In this action plaintiff Classic Film Museum, Inc. seeks declaratory and injunctive relief, monetary damages, costs, and attorneys’ fees against defendant Warner Bros., Inc. Classic contends that by wrongfully asserting common-law copyrights in the story, screenplay and musical score of the 1937 film “A Star is Born,” Warner has engaged in unfair competition and is in violation of the copyright and antitrust laws of the United States. Warner has counterclaimed against Classic and alleges copyright infringement, conversion and unfair competition. Warner seeks declaratory and injunctive relief, monetary damages, costs, attorneys’ fees, and return of positive prints of the film which Classic possesses.

Defendant contends that, despite the 1965 expiration of its statutory copyright in the 1937 version of the film “A Star is Born”, it still possesses valid common-law copyrights in the story, screenplay and musical score from which the film was derived, and that by virtue of its ownership of the common-law copyrights in the underlying works, any unauthorized duplication, distribution or exhibition of the 1937 film infringes its underlying copyrights. Plaintiff concedes, for present purposes at least, that defendant retains valid common-law copyrights in the underlying story, screenplay and musical score, and that no one not authorized by defendant can produce a fourth film version of “A Star is Born” based on these materials.  Plaintiff’s essential argument is that when the statutory copyright in the film expired in 1965, the film fell into the public domain free of any claims, not only of the copyright proprietor of the film, but of the owner of the common-law copyrights in the underlying works. Any other result, plaintiff argues, defies both common sense and the fundamental thesis of copyright law that the monopoly protection which the Copyrights Act affords to works commercially exploited must be for a limited time only.

Judgment: The Court holds that the expiration of defendant’s statutory copyright in the 1937 version of the motion picture film “A Star is Born” dedicated the film in its entirety to the public use, and that defendant’s common-law copyrights in the dialogue, script and musical score of the film afford no basis for its claim to the exclusive right to exhibit, distribute or otherwise use the film. Judgment will be entered declaring that defendant has no valid claim or cause of action for copyright infringement against plaintiff or plaintiff’s licensees or lessees in respect of its or their distribution or exhibition of prints of the 1937 version of the motion picture film “A Star is Born”, and dismissing the first counterclaim (copyright infringement) in defendant’s answer to the amended complaint.