This entry was written by Hon. Albert M. Rosenblatt, President of The Historical Society of the New York Courts. Judge Rosenblatt will be one of the presenters at next week’s event Litigation & Literature in the N.Y. Courts: Shaw, Shakespeare, and Sherlock on Wednesday, February 17 at 6 p.m. at The New York City Bar Association. Click here to register for this free event: http://bit.ly/litigation-literature. (CLE credit available to members of the Society)
In the world of literature, three of the most widely read are Shaw, Shakespeare, and Sherlock (Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes).
In researching whether there has been litigation associated with them, we, The Historical Society of the New York Courts, learned that the works of all three have been the subject of lawsuits of one kind or another, and so it seemed entirely apt to put on a program entitled Litigation and Literature featuring the legal disputes that surrounded these works.
Considering the long reach of these three writers, it seems entirely likely that disputes would arise over performances, rights, and contracts. We thought it would be enjoyable to plan and present an evening in which an entertainment law expert, Carol Kaplan, would discuss the litigation surrounding My Fair Lady, and with it a clip of Julie Andrews singing “Wouldn’t It Be Loverly”; Dan Kornstein, a lawyer and Shakespeare writer discuss The Bard, the litigation surrounding a staging, and some carefully chosen Shakespearean segments, and a description of the life and times of Sherlock Holmes – and the litigation over rights to the stories.
Best of all, the readings will be done by the eminent actor Paxton Whitehead, who has played or produced or directed plays by Shaw, Shakespeare, and Sherlock (Doyle).