The Man behind the Curtain: Developing Film’s Double Exposure of Intellectual Property

Johanna Gibson

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Chapter 6 The Man behind the Curtain

Developing Film’s Double Exposure of Intellectual Property

In: Intellectual Property and the Law of Nations, 1860-1920

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Johanna Gibson

Johanna Gibson
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Type:: Chapter

Pages:: 207–241

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004511439_008

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Abstract

The intellectual property protection of film and its apparatus provides an instructive perspective on the relationship between law and creativity more widely. From the early popularisation in the late nineteenth century, to the introduction of film to copyright in the early twentieth century, the industry’s relationships to copyright and to patents chart a history from film’s early reputation as a mere technology of reproduction to the recognition of that reproduction as creative in and of itself. Curiously, in its first instance, the industry emphasised patent protection and even the earliest copyright recognition (and protection) was motivated by an anxiety concerning copying, rather than an objective to protect a perceived value in film as an art form. This chapter examines the early history of the invention of film, developments in protection and particular historical tensions in the interaction with arts campaigners and the use of other “high art” (such as literature, opera, and theatre) to validate the emerging film form, as well as the use of film in the establishment of early twentieth-century consumer culture, all forecasting the later significance of film studies as a catalyst for legal reform, and intellectual property as a site for understanding social reform in the industry today. Ultimately, it is suggested that this early history of film is instructive in finding the man behind the curtain of intellectual property.

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Intellectual Property and the Law of Nations, 1860-1920

Series: Legal History Library, Volume: 58/22 and Studies in the History of International Law, Volume: 58/22

E-Book ISBN:: 9789004511439

Publisher:: Brill | Nijhoff

Print Publication Date:: 06 May 2022

Subjects
- History
  - Legal History
- International Law
  - Intellectual Property Law
  - Legal History

Front Matter

Part 1 Industrial Innovation in History and Conflicts

Part 2 Film and Regal Approaches to Copyright

Part 3 Trademarks, Terroir and the Colonies

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Chapter 6 The Man behind the Curtain

Developing Film’s Double Exposure of Intellectual Property

Abstract

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Intellectual Property and the Law of Nations, 1860-1920

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