Los Angeles herald., 1908-01-19
SAYS MERRY WIDOW"
COPYRIGHT IS FAULTY


n HERE is little chance that any
operate organization of standing
II will play THE Merry Widow" or
any part of it without the consent of
Henry w. Savage, despite the fact that
Mr.. Savage's copyright probably isn't
worth the paper it's written on.
Last week Frank Healy announced
he would put on The Merry Widow"
w1ltz as an interpolated number in
ship Alloy" But he didn't make
good Someone carried the news to
New York and the syndicate powers
got busy They wired Manager Wyatt
of the Mason to prevent the produc-
ton at all hazards. Manager Savage
himself sent wire, announcing that
he held copyright on the Widow"
and that he would resist any infringe
ment to the utmost limit of his power.
And Healy yielded; not because he be-
lieves in the validity of that copyright,
but because he believes in the syndi-
Gates power and because he wants to
be able to continue in the comic opera
field without being obliged to play in
barns or under canvas
It is a comparatively simple matter
to secure a copyright, but it is more
difficult sometimes to make that copy
right stick If it is attacked in the
courts. Charles Frohman, for instance,
copyrighted 1.-The Fatal Card" and
when Dick Ferris played it he hailed
Mr. Ferris into court and promptly Sc
cured Judgment against him for in
fringement. Ferris, however, appealed
and in the higher courts not only Sc
cured a reversal but was granted a
substantial sum in damages. The
copyright was held to be faulty
Now while that case was pending
Dick Ferris studied the copyright law
as a matter of business. He wanted
to know it's every provision and he
passed considerable time in reading 1t
and in reading decisions bearing upon
its Interpretation. Today Mr.. Ferris,
though he is not a lawyer, is an au-
thority on this particular law, and he
declares the Merry Widow" copyright
useful only as a DOGGY man is useful,
to brighten children.
Ferris says Healy could put on the
opera with absolute safety so far as
the law is concerned, though he admits
the after results might be disastrous
to the Healy enterprises, dependent
upon syndicate bookings.
incidentally Ferris threatens to pre-
sent 1.-The Merry Widow" himself. not
as an opera, but as a comedy, with in
cidental music by an augmented Or
chest1a. He produced "Parsifal' in
that way and 1t made a hit More, he
plans also a similar production of II
have an opportunity to see both before
the Ferris season at the Auditorium
closes.
Manager Morosco of the Burbank
theater is to be congratulated upon
having secured so competent a player
as Miss Blanche Stoddard for "Ros-
mersholm," which is TO be the next
Ibsen play at that house. Miss Stod-
dard should give an unusually fine
performance in this drama, in which
She will play the role made known by
FRS. Fiske in New York city.
Just at present Miss Stoddard is
playing a seven weeks starring en-
eagement with San Diego stock COM
pany. The company, however, plays
only three nights week, the re-
mainder of the time being given up to
travelling organizations, and thus Miss
Stoddard will be able to make her re-
appearance here without interfering
with her work in the city to the south.