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''Miller v. Universal City Studios, Inc.,'' is a case where an appeals court found that although the plaintiff apparently deserved to prevail, it reversed the jury verdict and remanded the case for retrial because it found reversible error in the trial judges’ instructions to the jury. The appellate court found that the judge’s jury instructions, which included the statement that the labor of research by an author is protected by copyright, had been given in error. The court noted that plaintiff, over the objection of the defense, had urged the district court judge to include this instruction. == Background == In December 1968, a 20-year-old Emory University student named Barbara Jane Mackle was kidnapped from an Atlanta motel room. Mackle was the daughter of Robert Mackle, a wealthy Florida land developer. Mackle, suffering from the flu, had been housed at the motel by the University because the student infirmary had run out of beds due to the flu epidemic. Mackle was driven away in a van and taken to a remote location in the Georgia woods where she was placed in a wooden, coffin-like box, and buried alive. The box contained a crude ventilation system. Five days later, Mackle was rescued by FBI agents.〔Gene Miller, Barbara Jane Mackle, 83 Hours Till Dawn (New York: Doubleday, 1971), 7-9.〕〔Miller v. Universal City Studios, Inc. 460 F. Supp. 984 (S.D. Fla. 1978)〕 Gene Miller, a ''Miami Herald'' reporter and two-time Pulitzer Prize winner for local reporting, covered the story of Mackle’s kidnapping. Later, Miller and Mackle agreed to collaborate on a book about her ordeal. The result was 83 Hours Till Dawn, which was published by Doubleday in July 1971. The book was serialized in ''Ladies' Home Journal'' and a condensed edition appeared in ''Reader’s Digest''. In February 1972, William Frye, a Universal City Studios television producer, read the ''Reader’s Digest'' version and contacted Miller and told him he thought it would make a good made-for-television film. Miller gave him a copy of the book. Frye offered Miller $15,000. for the film rights. Miller countered that he wanted $200,000. The two could not reach an agreement on the money and no deal was signed. In September 1972, the American Broadcasting Company premiered the Universal City Studios made-for-television film ''The Longest Night'' as the ABC Movie of the Week The film, written by screenwriter Merwin Gerard, told the story of Barbara Mackle’s kidnapping but used different names for the characters. Soon after the broadcast, Gene Miller filed suit in United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida accusing Universal City Studios, Inc., American Broadcasting Companies and Post-Newsweek Stations Florida, Inc., of copyright infringement, unfair competition, and punitive damages. Barbara Mackle assigned her interests in the case to Gene Miller.〔Id. 985-986.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Miller v. Universal City Studios, Inc.」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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