The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1884-05-17 00:00:00

j AMATEUR DRAMATIC REPRI7UNTA-

TIONS.

id the Court of Appeal, on Monday, before Ple
Mastef of the Rolls and Lords Justices Bowen and
Fry, the rase of "Duck v. Bates" was concluded.
The queeliOn was to what extent private theatricals
can be perfaitned without infringing upon statutory
rights of dm:natio anthom The performance in
question took :Awe in the- board-room of Guy's
Hospital by the members of an amateur theatrical
club, for the amusanent of tt.l3' nurSes, the °Beers,
and the physicians and surgeon connected with the
institution, their farnafeis, and frikids; and, in addi-
tion, tickets in blank we issued to' the- members of
the amateur club, to be distributed by them among
their families and friends.. The plair.tiff WaS aesigneer
a the copyright of a ditimatic piece called' ''Our
Boys(' and the defendant was a ralmber• or the.
amateur dramatic club in cluestion. The. cou4,-
court judge of Southwark fizr,tid:that tbs. defendauts,
was-not liable to penalties, and the Quesn's-Benel)
division upheld his decision.
. ,
Their Lordships . delivered jaiigritents, .Iritstiag- an, •
hour and a half, with the result that' the Mcs.:. terbf
the Rolla and Lord Justice R.-toren concUrsull.in.
affirming the judgment of the DiN Com-G.-Lord
Juntbe Fry drlfering.

The-blaster of the Rolls said tl2tre' could 12,'''ne •
doubt that a dramatic piece had been ''acted, and The'
only question was whether the defeciant was lia'ailej
under 3and4 Will. IV., chap. 15, sections'l and .1;
The Act'intendecl to protect the valul-to an autlio: •
from a commercial point of view, of his property in as.
dramatic invention—viz., the power of himself causing
it to be represented for value and for alrewing other
people to do se:. That right might be injured, not
only by persons aetiing a piece for profit; but, as
had been decided, br those who acted f•l'vtiothing,
and thereby enticed the.public who might afterwards
come to them for profit. It could be ' a
right constrnction• of the statute to say that there
could only be an, infringement by representint; • a
dramatic piece in, a' place which is habitually Used
for that purpose;- for by taking a drawing-r% or
changing the -place of amusement each evening,'-f the
actors might obtaintbasame audience as woul.kgdth
a licensed theatre; - It' was, obvious that the s-ection
meant that there- might he• a representation of' a
dramatic piece without'infri-ngement, for the scation
requires not only: a representation of a drainatia
gntertainment, hilt, that it ahall be at a place" of
uramatic x-ntr leglituo
foresee the present peculiar fashion of peo-Ae
rushing about the 'country mi.' acting; if they had, -
they would probably • have- used other words. If '
children acted before their- parents in the nursery?
or drawing-room, no- one roultleall those places cf.'
dramatic entertainment, -because they are strictly
and obviously private and domestie. The place must
be where there is performed arepresentation which is
other than internal, •domestiorand'Private. It need not
be paid for, but it must be public •inthe sense that the
spectators are such a part oftbe public, as public, that
it could be said that they are part of a body which
might, but for the .entertainment 'in question, be
entertained at a -place- where- the -author might be
acting his play as a conimercial trantaction. It does
not follow that a representation is not public in that
sense, because it is confined to, less-than the whole
public. A representation in a countryttown, to which
all the neighbourhood might come woald be public in
that sense. Nor could there be any doubt as to
where ladies and gentlemen went 'round the country,
calling themselves this or that, and acting protected
pieces in any room they could get, the proceeds being
given to charity. Whether a representation was
private, domestic, and internal, wasa question of fact
in each case, and his -lordship would not advise
people by any manipulation to make that appear to
be private, which was -really publiO in the sense
described. His lordship's view •of section 1
was strengthened by considering the damages
given by section 2, which • pointed to an infringe-
ment by persons acting ;for profit, and also by
those acting for nothing... As to the facts of the case,
the object of the entertainment was to give amuse-
ment to the nurses, who were benefactors of the suf-
ferers in the hospital, and' to the officers of the hos-
pital who work with the nurses, and to their friends.
It was only natural that 'the amateur actors should
wish their friends to be present. The entertainment
was within the limits of the hospital, and in his lord-
ship's opinion it was domestic and anything but public.
The invitation to the reporters was a mere piece of
vanity on the part of the actors, and did not add to
the publicity of the matter. The representation .was
a domestic representation within the walls of the
hospital, and was intended mostly to amuse those
connected with the hospital and their friends, and was
not within the purview of the Act. His lordship
desired again to express a strong view that no one who
goes beyond a private and domestic representation
among his private friends, and by any pretence or
means brings in the public, or those who are really a
part of the public, to witness his performances, should
be protected from the operation of the statute.

Lord Justice Bowen agreed, remarking that the
performance, though approaching dangerous] near
the line, was still a domestic and not a public ne.

Trvo,-1 :In ;e.chV.yozaa rtk ik was With
regret that he found himself compelled to differ from
the opinion expressed by the county court judge, by
the Divisional Court, and by the majority of the
Ccurt of Appeal. In his opinion, keeping in view the
numbers present, and that there was no security
against the indiscriminate transfer of the tickets,
there was such an element of publicity introduced
as brought the performance within the terms of
the statute.
The appeal was then dismissed, with costs.