Hazard

Appellant copyrighted an, original dramatic composition entitled “A Man’s Castle” and assigned to Columbia Pictures Corporation very broad privileges in the work. By the assignment the entire motion picture rights and other rights of a collateral nature were set over to Columbia, including the right to broadcast sketches of the motion picture version. Pursuant to its license Columbia produced a photoplay of the composition. It later granted to appellee Walter Pidgeon a license to produce a single radio broadcast based on the screen play.

Appellant was of the belief that the broadcasted performance which followed violated his agreement with Columbia and constituted an infringement of his copyright. He sued Pidgeon, together with the latter’s associates, the broadcasting com•pany and the sponsor, for damages for infringement. The Court found that the broadcast was a sketch of the motion picture version, and it accordingly concluded that there was neither violation of the assignment to Columbia nor infringement of the copyright. Hence this appeal.

Appellant claims that the radio version was an adaptation, not of the motion picture play, but of his original work. There is, however,…