Variety (Oct 1941)

S2 RADIO Wednesday, October 29, 1941 N.Y. Judges Unique Legal Slant On Protection of Radio Idea A new version of copyright laws on radio material came into exist- ence Wednesday (22), as the re- sult of Justice Morris Eder's ruling In the N. Y. supreme court in dis- missing a $60,000 suit by Grombach Productions against Fred Waring, Stack-Goble Agency, and Johnny O'Connor. Grombach had claimed the plagiarism of one of its own ideas for a radio program. Justice Eder ruled that the idea had been copyrighted by the plam- tifl, and once he had copyrighted jt, he lost his interest in the idea as such, but had an interest only in the result, or the script itself, on which no dispute was in order, ^he court also ruled that a copyright infringe- ment action belonged in the federal court, and • was out of his juris- diction, Grombach claimed that he submitted an idea to i the agency which would call for Waring to ask listeners to write in telling of in- cidents in their lives in which songs were involved. After a dramatiza- tion of the incident, the song would be played. Waring claimed many persons had submitted similar ideas to him, and he had used it as far back as 1928. NAB/s lllh Zone To Bring Admen, Ctobwomen Others in at Same Time Kate Smith's OEM Job Washington, Oct. 28. Kate Smith will help the New Dealers get the raw materials moon over the mountain in the role of radio's first uncompensated woman assistant to the Office of Emergency Management, defense adjunct of the White House. Nightingale has been tagged liaison officer between the OEM radio section and the industry, expected to make the public con- scious of the need for conserving scarce, vital materials, Donald M. Nelson, chain store executive steering the Supply, Pri- orities and Allocations Board snapped up the singer'3 offer to do her bit, wiring that 'youi^ assistance- can be invaluable' in driving home the need for frugality. Dog Shares Billing Boston, Oct, 28. Jerry, Bozo and Sky, also known as Lonesome Trailers, hillbilly singers, have joined WEEI, coming from WOV, New York City. Bozo is a Germttn shepherd dog, but receives blU- 'ing with the act. Act hails from Nashville, has settled on a Greenland, N. H. farm and will commute. AFRA'S N.Y. CHAPTOR ELECT OFHCERS NOV. 3 Officers of the New York local of the American Federation of Radio Artists are to be elected Nov. 3. To be named ar* president, five vice- presidents, recording secretary and treasurer. Poll is being conducted by mall. Selections will be made from among the members- of the local board: William P. Adams Is the Incumbent president. ' Swan Stirs P. & G. Name Interest Anne Nichols Air Show Up at Benton & Bowles—■ Would Include Lewis Stone From Hollywood 'Radio Youngsters,' half-hour se- ries with Lewis Stone and a cast of Hollywood moppets, is being con- sidered by Benton It Bowles tor possible -Procter & Gamble spon- sorship. Anne Nichols, author of 'Abie's Irish Rose,' is the orlglnator- wrlter of the show, which would originate -on the Coast. Ivory Snow would be the product, but has not yet made any recommendation to the clients. That is declared to be the only name show being considered by P. & G., although both Benton & Bowles and the Compton. agency, which handle part of the soap ac- count, have beeii gandering talent lists, presumably with the Idea of a name show for P. St G. Belief ■in the- trade-is-that-this-nDme-search prompted by the strong start of the Burns and Allen and Paul White- man stanza foe Lever Bros., arch P. St G. rival. However, P. & O. policy tra- ditionally favors economy program buying rather than name sponsor- ship. Only times <he account has shown any Interest in personality talent In recent years was when Jack Benny was uncertain about taking his present deal with Gen- eral Foods and when Fred Allen switched last season from Bristol- Myers to Texaco. P. & G. looked into both situations from a dlstcnce, bu^ made no offers. Soap firm starts sponsorship Mon< day (3) of 'The Bartons' on NBC- Red out of Chicago for Duz. Comp- ton agency is handling It There are several over realignments of P. & -Gr programs—In—the- wind-, - but • nothing will be settled for a couple of weeks. Minneapolis, Oct. 28. When National Assn of Broadcast- ers holds its eleventh district meet in Minneapolis Dec. 11-12 there'll, be, in addition to the broadcasters' group meetings, special rountables with advertisers, PTA groups, the Federated Women's clubs and tKfe University of Minnesota. E. H. Gammons, WCCO general manager, head of the district, is meeting this week with Tom Gavin, WEBC; C. T. Hagman, WTCN; K. W. Hustedi WLOL, and P. J. Meyer, WYFR, to work out program plans. Educational Committee Meets in Washington Washington, Oct 28. Walter Preston representing NBC, and Sterling Fisher representing CBS, were here last weekend to at- tend meeting of the- Federal Radio Education Committee. With John Stubebaker of Office of Education presiding the FREC mostly con- sidered new research projects in- volving children's programs. Keith Tyler of Ohio State outlined some proposed.' RUSS HODGES' INJURY Hurt Beturning from WBTs Farewell Party—Misses WOL Start Charlotte, N. C, Oct. 28. A farewell party for Russ Hodges, WBT sports announcer, prior to his scheduled leaving for Washington to join the sports staff of WOL (Mu- tual), turned out' badly for Hodges, He was slated to have reached Wash- ington in time to broadcast the Sun- day (26) game of the Washington Redskins. The farewell party, given him by WBT staff members, was held Thursday night at a local country club. On his way home Hodges was crowded off -the road and turned over. His Injuries were described at local hospital, where, he is confined, as consisting of cuts and bruises and a possible fractured vertebrae. Ramsey in N. Y. William Ramsey, Procter & Gamble radio head. Is currently in New York iot one of his periodic confabs with agencies, writers, etc He and Mrs. Ramsey will attend the Yale-Brown football game' Sat- urday (1) at New Haven and are .due- back in CiDclnnati next Mon- day (3). WBTN Jewish Amateurs WBYN, Brooklyn, has just bagged Gulden's Mustard as sponsor of Jewish amateur program heard Tuesday nights. Sam Gellard, WBYN sales manager, closed with Charles Hoyt agency. Victor Packer ia Ui«r Yiddish Bowes. The Story of Two V^vembers.,, This is November—and our Birthday Monthi Th« Fifteenth Birthday of th« NBC Red Network —But this Isn't just a story about us. This story. Is about some things that grew up with us Between two Novembers, 15 years apart... a story that's bigger than we are, And we know It. It isn't only something on a calendar. And It Isn't the sort of thing that you can analyzs By counting the colored counties on a map. Though a map's one jyay to look at It... When the President speaks to the people ... when the destiny of the nation rests with the people ... or when the people want to be told The facts that a people .should hear. _ Yes—and a map can make you feel, perhaps, How rich and poor, strong, weak, young, old (But Listeners all I) Are gathered today into a transcendent unity Beyond achieving in that.other November 15 years ago. We have removed forever Cracker-barrel sectionalism . .. misunderstandings between City and City, State and State. And something has been born that was not here before. A' map can show you how, for Instance, ^^^ther generations may have dreamed In nearly every county of America, What these last 15 years have made come truei . W« can bring our people together, as into one room The pioneer, rolling westward through days of dust —Out in Montana, down in Rhode Island, across the And days of snow, plains of Texas— May have dreamed how some day w« should end