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Court Reverses Steinbeck Copyright Ruling
A federal appeals court has reversed
a prior ruling in favor of John Steinbeck's son and granddaughter which gave them publishing rights to ten of Steinbeck's works, including The Grapes of Wrath and Of Mice and Men
The ruling by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will leave the rights in the hands of Penguin Group Inc. and the heirs of Steinbeck's widow, Elaine Steinbeck. John Steinbeck died in 1968; his wife in 2003.
The appeals court in Manhattan said a lower court judge misapplied copyright law in awarding the rights in 2006 to the son, Thomas Steinbeck, and granddaughter Blake Smyle, who already receive a portion of the proceeds of sales.
The rights are worth quite a bit of money, as they include power of how the works are use in every media from books to movies.
Steinbeck left the rights to his widow in his will, and gave each of his sons about $50,000 in trust. When the widow died, she left the rights to her children from another marriage, thereby cutting out Steinbeck's own sons.
Posted on August 18, 2008
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