Benelli v. Hopkins

The complaint alleges: In 1909 plaintiff Benelli wrote in the Italian language a literary and dramatic composition entitled “ La Gena delle Beffe ”, the English equivalent of which is “ The Banquet of the Jest ”; the work was written for the purpose of being produced and acted in public on the theatrical stage; and it was produced and acted in Italy in 1909 and in France in 1910 and 1919. In January, 1926, said plaintiff granted to defendant, by written contract, the sole and exclusive right to produce the play in the United States and Canada until December 1, 1935, with the right to make or…