Show World (June 1909)

4 THE SHOW WORLD June 5, 1909. NEWS OF THE WEEK IN GREATER NEW YORK PATENTS CO. IS AFTER CAMERA INFRINGERS SAYS LATE BULLETIN. Legal Counsel Send Out Form Letters to All Unlicensed Film Users and Exhibitors. New York, May. 2.7. According to the following bulletin which is reprinted in full, the Motion Picture Patents Company is hot on the trail of exhibitors and others using infringing cameras: “If there are any persons interested in motion pictures who are in doubt as to the intention of the Motion Pic¬ ture Patents Company to protect its patent rights and its ability to do so, the following letters, sent out by the legal representatives of the Patents company to every unlicensed film user or projecting machine user in (he United States, will probably clear up such doubts, and leave a definite idea in their place. “The first letter issued and sent out on May 26 from the offices of Kerr, Page, Cooper and Hayward, Singer building, New York City, has to do with the picture projecting machines, and is as follows: “ ‘We are informed that you are at the present time using a motion pic¬ ture projecting machine which in¬ fringes one or more of the following United States Letters Patent owned by our client, the Motion Picture Patents Company of New York City: “‘Patent No. 578,185, dated March 2, 1898; Patent No. 580,749, dated April 12, 1897; Patent No. 586,953, dated July 20, 1897; Patent No. 673,- 329, dated April 30, 1901; Patent No. 673,992. dated May 14, 1901; Patent No. 707,934, dated Aug. 26, 1902; Pat¬ ent No. 722,382, dated March 10, 1903; Patent No. 785,205, dated March 21, New York, June 2. The Queen of the Moulin Rouge, a salacious show which • was barred but? of Boston, returned to' this city - and opened' at- the .Grand last night. It is reported that the Syndicate planned sending the show to the Chi¬ cago opera house but Chicago men objected. The show will appear at a Syndicate theater in Philadelphia when it leaves the Grand. New York,, May 31. Walter Hitchcock, who was dis¬ missed from one of W. A. Brady’s companies without the usual two weeks’ notice, has sued for the two weeks’ salary. He appeared on the stand in his own behalf and insisted that he was entitled to the usual no¬ tice when dismissed. Brady testified that Hitchcock was incompetent. The judge reserved his decision. MARTIN BECK GETS ATLANTA’S ORPHEUM TO ADD TO STRING Arrangement Effective Between E. F Albee, Jake Wells and Head of Circuit Assures Fine Bills There Next Season. PRODUCING MANAGERS BEHIND CANADA LAW Association Intends to Pot Pirates Out of Business Across The Line And Has Begun The Good Work. 1905. ‘ ‘You are hereby notified that ’ your use of this machine lation of the exclusive rights reserved to the Motion Picture Patents Com¬ pany by the Letter's Patents enumer¬ ated above, and that failure on your part to discontinue such use, or to obtain a license from the company under the patents named, will subject you to a suit for an injunction and ac¬ counting for profits and damages arising from your infringement.’ “The second letter issued and sent out on May 26 is in reference to films, and is here appended: “Law Offices : Specialty : Gifford & Bull. Patents, Livingston. Gifford, Tradesmarks, J. Edgar Bull. Copyrights. Washington Life Building, 141 Broadway, New York. “We are advised by our client, the Motion Picture Patents Company, that you are using and have used mo¬ tion pictures made in infringement of reissued United States Letters Patent No. 12,192, granted to Thomas A. Edison, Jan. 12, 1904, and owned by it; and are requested to notify you that unless you forthwith cease such infringing acts, we are instructed to protect its exclusive rights under said patent by suits in the United States courts for an accounting of the profits arising from. such infringe¬ ments and for an injunction to pre¬ vent the use of such motion pictures without the license of our client. “Yours very truly, “Gifford & Bull.” New York, May 31. The National Association of Theat¬ rical Producing Managers fully in¬ tends to stop the pirating of Ameri¬ can plays in Canada and to that end has been instrumental in having a sort of preliminary copyright bill become a statute. For years, owing to the lax laws across the border, American play¬ wrights and owners, of plays have suf¬ fered from the depredations of pirates. Through the assistance of various il¬ legal “manuscript bureaus” produc¬ ers found no difficulty in obtaining scripts of popular American plays and, taking them across the line, either produced and advertised them openly, or under cover, that is, through the medium of a slightly altered and sug¬ gestive title, which tended to mislead the Canadian public. Attempt has been made many times to stop this sort of thievery, but until the present action but little encouragement was given to American suggestions. The amendment *to the Canadian criminal laws, which has just been passed, reads as follows: “Every person who, after the regis¬ tration of any dramatic work, publicly performs, exhibits or represents or who in any manner causes or aids or abets the public performance, exhi¬ bition or representation, in whole or in part, of such dramatic work, with¬ out the consent of the proprietor (un¬ less he proves he acted innocently) is guilty of an offense, and liable on sum¬ mary conviction to a fine not less than one hundred dollars and not exceeding five hundred dollars or thirty days’ imprisonment, or both, in the dis¬ cretion of the court, and on second or subsequent conviction to imprison¬ ment, with or without hard labor, for six months.” According to this statute any play heretofore copyrighted in Great Brit¬ ain may be registered and receive complete protection under this enact¬ ment. In addition to securing this criminal clause the association is prac¬ tically assured that at the next session of parliament a copyright law for dra¬ matic works equally as far reaching as that obtained in the United States will be adopted in Canada. Especial appreciation is due to John Powell, manager of the Grand opera house, Barrie, Ontario, and Hon. Haughton Lenox, of the law firm of Lenox, Cowan & Brown, of Barrie, Ontario, for their hearty co-operation in the endeavoj- to secure full protec¬ tion for dramatic property. New York, June 1 By an arrangement entered into be¬ tween Martin Beck, E. F. Albee and Jake Wells, the Orpheum theater in Atlanta, Ga., becomes a part of the big Orpheum circuit of theaters and will be supplied with its programs, beginning next season, under Mr! Beck’s direction. This will add five new Orpheums to the fast growing string of theaters'under this same di¬ rection, the other four additions being two Utah houses in Ogden and Lo¬ gan, a new theater in Duluth and one in Winnipeg. The acquisition of Atlanta by the Orpheum circuit is considered .quite the natural thing by vaudeville man¬ agers as its conduct in connection with New Orleans, Memphis, Louis¬ ville and Cincinnati and the other first class vaudeville theaters in its terri¬ tory will prove a big advantage to the artists and benefit the programs generally. Furthermore, the acts playing the Orpheum’s and other Western Vaudeville theaters ^delu¬ sively, will now be seen in Atlanta for the first time, and the larger and more important acts who heretofore could not accept a single week there owing to the long jumps, will now be routed either before or after New Or¬ leans and Memphis. For the big Orpheum bookings a shift of houses will be made there, and the handsome new Lyriej will be¬ come the Orpheum theater with the beginning of next season, and the present vaudeville house there will be i devoted to the Stair & Havlin attrac¬ tions under Mr. Well’s directionl.The Lyric is said to be a fine modern the¬ ater excellently equipped in every way for high-class vaudeville, fand will be one of the handsomest theaters in the South devoted to this : styletof amusement ACTORS' FUND REPORT SHOWS AN OVERDRAFT Festival of Feminine Beauty Book< for Orpheum at Oakland, Cal., By Martin Beck, jl Disbursements for Year Exceed Income by Fourteen Thousand Dollars.— Registration Bureau Successful. New York, Jqhe 2. Martin Beck provided a imiqhe pro¬ gram for the Orpheum, in Oakland, recently — a program composed en¬ tirely of female stars,—with not one " bn the entire advertised list. Fortune Hunter at Gaiety. New York, June 2. Cohan & Harris will present The Fortune Hunter at the Gaiety next autumn. The management is said to regard this play as superior to Brew¬ ster’s Millions. Olga Nethersole Sails. New York, June 2. Olga Nethersole sailed for abroad Tuesday. New York, May 29. Thomas McGrath of the Registra¬ tion Bureau of the Actors’ Fund, has just .submitted his report which in¬ cludes some interesting figures. It shows that from Feb. 8 to May 1 the total registration amounted to 1,062. Seven hundred and twenty-six new members were added in that time and 23 life members. The gross amount received from same was $3,664. The total expense of operating the bureau during that period of time was $654.25. Four hundred and seventy-five dra¬ matic companies were included in the correspondence of the bureau, and of this number 378 replied. Hattie Wil¬ liams’ Fluffy Ruffles company holds the record for the largest number of players registering, the number being 39. Engagements made in April in¬ cluded twelve persons for the stock company at Flushing, L. I., of which John Burke is manager, twelve per¬ sons with the Warburton stock at Yonkers, A. C. Dorner, manager. Other managers supplied through the bureau previous to May 1 included Daniel Frohman, Henry B. Harris, James Forbes, Henry W. Savage, Benj. Stern and the managers of the Beverly of Grhustark company, Per¬ cy Plunkett’s company, Knickerbock¬ er Amusement company and others. The Treasurer’s Statement. Henry B. Harris, treasurer, in his annual report states that the receipts for the year totaled $34,728.43, while the disbursements amounted to $9.- 394.18. This created an overdraft of $14,665.72 and a bank balance of $14,- 172.24. The total investments of the fund, however, amount to $155,966.25. Mr. McGrath reports that registra¬ tions for the month of May .will equal, if not exceed, that of the previous months. Three hundred and ten new annual members and 8 life members have been added to the roll, and the managers have just begun sending in their lists for next season. Over •>■ » hundred engagements were secured through the bureau during the past month and the outlook from now on is very promising; both actors and managers are coming forward in sup¬ port of the new bureau. About 1,500 registrations have been made and all the first-class managers have placed themselves on record to assist in placing those members of the fund who are registered. From start to finish it was a wo¬ man’s bill with every act arranged, controlled and presented by feminine" artists, and yet it appears to have pro¬ vided an abundance of variety and certainly contained attractiveness and novelty. There was dancing,dra¬ matic presentations, comedy-.; charac¬ terizations. a ballet spectacle, vpiano playing, singing and other delightful bits of vaudeville. Heading this remarkable bill was Mile. Zelie De Lussan, the grand opera diva, while Grigolatis’ Famous Aerial Bird Ballet and “LajValera (Mrs. Horton F. Phipps, a California society dancer) were the extra. fea¬ tures. Among the other pros artists who completed the festival” were the MelnottelJ Angela Dolores and her Elsie Schuyler, Lillian Mortimer and her company, and the Four Sisters Amatis. Grace George’s Plans. New York, June 3. Grace George sailed for London yesterday. She will return in time for the opening of Just A Womans Way in September. The play will dc seen on tour next season. ■