Stodart v. Mutual Film Corp.

249 F. 507 (1917)

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Stodart v. Mutual Film Corp.

United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
249 F. 507 (1917)

Facts

Robert Stodart (plaintiff) composed a play and properly registered a copyright. Mutual Film Corporation and another film company (the film companies) (defendants) produced a film with a plot virtually identical to that of Stodart’s play, including the same setting, characters, and specific events. Stodart sued the film companies for copyright infringement. The film companies argued that they had not infringed the copyright because Stodart’s play was similar—albeit minimally—to other stories and thus was within the public domain. The case came before Judge Learned Hand in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Hand, J.)

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