Shostakovich v. Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corp.
New York Superior Court
196 Misc. 67, 80 N.Y.S.2d 575 (1948)
- Written by Sarah Holley, JD
Facts
Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corp. (defendant) produced and exhibited throughout the United States a motion picture called The Iron Curtain. The title marked the political separation between that part of Europe under the influence of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR.) and the rest of the continent. Throughout the film, the music of Shostakovich (plaintiff) was reproduced as incidental, background music. Shostakovich received credit in both the film and its promotional materials, and his name appeared in the film itself when a character placed a recording of his music on a phonograph. The music, concededly, was in the public domain. Shostakovich, a resident and prominent composer of the USSR, filed suit against Twentieth Century-Fox to enjoin the use of his name and music in both the film and promotional materials because he found the film’s theme objectionable and offensive to his political ideologies.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Koch, J.)
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