1986, Section C, at 13, col 1; The Color Green, Tinting Old Movies by Computer: Big Business, Artistic Outrage, Washington Post, Nov. 2, Section F, at 1; "Colorization" Is Defacing Black and White Film Classics, New York Times, Nov. 2, 1986, Section 2, at 1, col. 1; Colorization's Negatives, U.S. News & World Report, Oct. 20, 1986, at 75; Raiders of the Lost Art, The "Colorizing" of Old Movies Has Directors Seeing Red, Time, Oct. 20, 1986, at 98; "Colorizing" Film Classics: A Boon or a Bane?, New York Times, Aug. 5, 1986, Section A, at 1, col. 3; High-Tech Facelift for Film Classics, U.S. News World Report, March 31, 1986, at 68; Play it Again, Sam...in Color, Forbes, Feb. 10, 1986, at 117; Play it Again, This Time in Color, Electronic Magic Touches Up the Classics of Black-and-White, Time, Oct. 8, 1984. 3. The author in no way attempts to comprehensively study the entire subject of copyright protection. The topic is simply too broad and necessarily beyond the scope of this article. Instead, the author will attempt to pinpoint the rationale and protections afforded by copyright and other branches of intellectual property law as they more specifically relate to the colorization issue. Likewise, models of moral rights protection as they exist in other countries will discussed by way of example only, and will by no means be exhaustively described. 4. See infra notes 20-23 and accompanying text. 5. One could imagine the amount of time and effort which would be needed to successfully colorize even a brief film montage, such as the famous "shower scene" from Hitchcock's Psycho. 6. It is doubtful, however, whether this increased market share reflects an actual viewer preference for colorized versions of films, or merely reflects a fleeting consumer interest in simply seeing the still-novel colorized product. A recent non scientific "Color Wars" poll taken following KTLA-TV's broadcast of the colorized It's a Wonderful Life revealed 53.5% of viewers calling in actually purported to prefer the original black-and white version. See "No" Votes Win in "Color Wars", supra note 2. Regardless, it will certainly be long-term market share, as opposed to purported consumer preference, which will ultimately determine the success or failure of colorization. now 7. Mr. Preminger died last year and his film company is run by a management firm. Despite rationalizations by management, it appears Preminger himself never consented to this agreement. See "Colorizing" Film Classics: A Boon or a Bane?, supra note 2, at 21. 8. Colorizers may alter public domain films without the consent or agreement of anyone. See infra notes 20-23 and accompanying text. 9. Yet opposition to colorization in the Hollywood creative community is not completely unanimous. Following Stewart's speech, he was surprised to learn that Joe Walker, cinematographer of the original Wonderful Life, was himself involved in the colorization of the same film. See Raiders of the Lost Art, supra note 2. 77-848 0-88 - 6 10. Other such groups include the Directors Guild of America, the Screen Actors Guild, the Writers Guild of America West, the American Society of Cinematographers and Hollywood locals of the International Alliance of Theatrical and Stage Employees. See Through a Tinted Glass, Darkly, supra note 2. 11. In England, the Stationers' Company Acts conferred upon the Royal Stationer until 1694 a complete monopoly in the right to copy all printed materials. In addition to protecting the Crown's economic interests, these Acts also served as an effective form of censorship. In 1709, 'An Act for the Encouragement of Learning' first granted the author the right to print and reprint his works. See V. Porter, Film Copyright: Film Culture, Vol. 19, No. 1 Screen 90, 94-95 (Spring 1978). 12. While the French refer to the author's right as droit d'auteur, a similar right appears by different names throughout Europe. For example, Spain has a derecho de autor, Italy a diritto d'autore, and Germany an Urheberrecht. See Porter, supra note 11, at 96. 13. Copyright protection is mandated in our country by US Const. art. 1, 8 8, which provides: "The Congress shall have Power...to Promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries." Id. Both "Authors" and "Writings" have been broadly construed so as to include creators of visual art, literature and music, as well as all other types of artistic works. For example, the Copyright Act of 1976 specifically confers protection to motion pictures and other audiovisual works. See 17 U.S.C. 8 102(6). 15. 17 U.S.C. 8 106(2) provides in relevant part: "...the owner of copyright...has the exclusive right to...prepare derivative works based upon the copyrighted work". Id. 16. A copyright owner can, if he wishes, transfer to another any or all of the exclusive rights granted by copyright, either with or without compensation. See 17 U.S.c. 8 201(d). |