TWAIN IN PUBLIC DOMAIN
Coast Court Rules on Story of Calaveras County Frog
SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 18 (UP) - Mark Twain, Jim Smiley and his celebrated jumpin' frog, Dan'l Webster, were declared public domain today by the Ninth Circuit United States Court of Appeals.
The court made the ruling in dismissing a $450,000 damage suit against Columbia Pictures, producers of "Best Man Wins," allegedly based on Twain's story "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County."
The suit charged that the movie was a "corny love story" that "depreciated the value of other Twain works." It was filed by the trustees of the estate of Samuel L. Clemens, the Mark Twain Company and Clara Clemens Samossoud, the only living descendant of Clemens.
Return to The New York Times
index
Quotations | Newspaper Articles | Special Features | Links
| Search