Copyright Case Against HAND TO GOD Appealed to the Supreme Court

According to Forbes, the descendants of Abbott and Costello have appealed their copyright claim against the play HAND TO GOD all the way to the Supreme Court. The case originated when the heirs discovered that the play used over a minute of the famous "Who's on First" routine without permission. The federal appellate court, however, decided the heirs do not in fact have a copyright claim to the material.

The "Who's on First" routine originated on the radio, then when Abbott and Costello signed on with Universal for the film ONE NIGHT IN THE TROPICS, they allowed the film to use the sketch. Universal entered into a contract with the heirs of the comedians giving them the rights to the material when the original owners died.

The court decided that since the sketch was used prior to the film, the true ownership lay with the comedians, and therefore Universal had no right to give the copyright away, as it was not truly theirs to begin with. The other implication of the decision is that the "Who's on First" material is now in the public domain since a copyright was not renewed by the comedians.

Now the descendants have taken their appeal to the Supreme Court. Attorney for HAND TO GOD, Mark J. Lawless, insists it will go nowhere. "The case turned on a question of state law: the construction of a contract. The Supreme Court of the United States isn't in the business of parsing contracts under state law."

To read more about the case, visit Forbes here.

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