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ARTICLE · 10 NOVEMBER 2020

Capote Charity Claims Copyright

Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz PC
Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz PC
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Then, in 1990, Capote's executor assigned the rights to all of Capote's literary works to the Trustee for the Trust.

United StatesIntellectual Property

The Trustee for the Truman Capote Literary Trust, established as a charitable trust under the will of prolific author Truman Capote, sued Paramount Pictures in Los Angeles County Superior Court this week. The lawsuit seeks declaratory relief that the rights to produce features based on Capote's classic novella Breakfast At Tiffany's  have reverted to the Trust because Paramount failed to timely produce another film based on the novella under a 1991 agreement between the parties.

The complaint sets forth the long and storied history of the rights to Breakfast at Tiffany's, beginning with a 1958 agreement between Capote and Paramount under which Capote granted Paramount the motion picture rights to the novella, which Paramount produced in 1961 as a critically-acclaimed and culturally-significant film. The Trust alleges that,  under the Copyright Act of 1909, the copyright reverted to Capote's estate in 1986 upon his death and was assigned to the Trust in 1990.

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This post first appeared in Frankfurt Kurnit's Focus on the Data blog (www.focusonthedata.com). It provides general coverage of its subject area. We provide it with the understanding that Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz is not engaged herein in rendering legal advice, and shall not be liable for any damages resulting from any error, inaccuracy, or omission. Our attorneys practice law only in jurisdictions in which they are properly authorized to do so. We do not seek to represent clients in other jurisdictions.

Originally published by the New York Legal Ethics Reporter

www.fkks.com

This alert provides general coverage of its subject area. We provide it with the understanding that Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz is not engaged herein in rendering legal advice, and shall not be liable for any damages resulting from any error, inaccuracy, or omission. Our attorneys practice law only in jurisdictions in which they are properly authorized to do so. We do not seek to represent clients in other jurisdictions.

www.fkks.com

This alert provides general coverage of its subject area. We provide it with the understanding that Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz is not engaged herein in rendering legal advice, and shall not be liable for any damages resulting from any error, inaccuracy, or omission. Our attorneys practice law only in jurisdictions in which they are properly authorized to do so. We do not seek to represent clients in other jurisdictions.

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