Movie lovers may want to take a look at Carol Robertson’s The Little Book of Movie Law (KF4298 .R63 201) in the Brooklyn Law School Library collection. The book, not so little with over 400 pages, looks at the legal world of cinema from Edison and the dawn of motion pictures to the Transformers and the big-business movie industry today. As with other books in the ABA Little Book series, the author selects cases to illustrate the law on the topic. This one includes a selection of the best cases involving the movies with 30 “reels” in all, each featuring a separate case that made headlines and changed movies forever. Robertson examines the relationship of cinema and the areas of patent, trademark, copyright, obscenity, and cyberlaw, and explains the legal ramifications of each case as well as the relevance to movie history. Cases examined in the book include:
De Havilland v. Warner Bros. Pictures, 67 Cal. App. 2d 225 (1944) (The “Studio System”)
Joseph Burstyn, Inc. v. Wilson, 343 U.S. 495 (1952) (The Catholic Church and Censorship)
Lugosi v. Universal Pictures, 25 Cal. 3d 813 (Cal. 1979) (Publicity)
Rogers v. Grimaldi, 875 F. 2d 994 (2d Cir. 1989) (Protection of a Celebrity’s Name)
Stewart v. Abend, 495 U.S. 207 (1990) (Copyright – Derivative Works)
