Pickford Corp. v. De-Luxe Laboratories, Inc.

The plaintiff or her predecessor in title deposited the original negatives of the film “Tonight or Never” with defendant De-Luxe Laboratories in 1941. No written contract of deposit or bailment was entered into, nor was any term of deposit fixed; De-Luxe used the negatives to make prints for exhibition on order of the depositor, and in the meanwhile stored the negatives, without charge, in. fireproof vaults, and secured its compensation from its profit on making the prints; all in accordance with- the custom of the trade. •''

On April 5th, 1951, De-Luxe received a letter from a corporation — not then, but since March 17, 1954 — wholly owned by *369 the plaintiff, which directed the delivery of several positives prints of the film to the other defendant Telinvest, Inc. On June 20, 1951, a wholly owned subsidiary of Telinvest took delivery of the prints for Telinvest, which were thereafter exhibited by Telinvest on television. The first such exhibition occurred on April 1, 1952. On August 5, 1952, the plaintiff demanded of De-Luxe that the negatives be returned to her. The suit was filed June 25, 1954.

Both parties agree that the law of the forum, i. e., California, applies.

The…