The Law of Motion Pictures Including the Law of the Theatre

Important early treatise on film and theatre copyright protection and law. Originally published: New York: Baker, Voorhis and Company, 1918. lvi, 943 pp. Thomas Edison established the first American movie studio in 1893. The first studio in Hollywood opened in 1911. By 1918 the motion picture industry was one of the five largest business sectors in the United States. Based on the "large body of case law peculiar to the industry" that had accrued by 1918, this is the first treatise to offer "a statement of the motion picture law" (v). Chapters examine the rights and liabilities of authors, producers, studio personnel, actors, distributors and theatre owners. There are also interesting sections on topics such as ticket immorality and the production or viewing of movies on Sundays.