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Desylva v. Ballentine, 351 U.S. 570 (1956)
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General SummaryThis case is from a collection containing the full text of over 16,000 Supreme Court cases from 1793 to the present. The body of Supreme Court decisions are, effectively, the final interpretation of the Constitution. Only an amendment to the Constitution can permanently overturn an interpretation and this has happened only four times in American history.
Desylva v. Ballentine, 351 U.S. 570 (1956)
DeSylva v. Ballentine No. 529 Argued April 25-26, 1956 Decided June 11, 1956 351 U.S. 570
CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
Syllabus
The Copyright Act grants to the author, "or the widow, widower, or children of the author, if the author be not living," the right of renewal of a copyright for a further 28-year term after the expiration of the original 28-year term.
Held:
1. After the author’s death, the widow and children of the author succeed to the right of renewal as a class, and are each entitled to share in the renewal term of the copyright. Pp. 573-580.
2. In the instant case, an illegitimate child of the author, who under the applicable state law would be an heir of the author, is within the term "children." Pp. 580-582.
(a) While the scope of a federal right is a federal question, its content may yet be determined by state, rather than federal, law, especially where the law of domestic relations is concerned. P. 580.
(b) Whether an illegitimate child is within the term "children," as used in this provision of the Act, is to be determined by whether, under state law, the child would be an heir of the author. Pp. 580-581.
(c) In the instant case, the only State concerned is California, and the question is to be determined with reference to the law of that State. P. 581.
(d) Under § 255 of the California Probate Code, an illegitimate child who is acknowledged by his father, by a writing signed in the presence of a witness, is entitled to inherit his father’s estate as well as his mother’s (although he may not be legitimate for all purposes), and that is sufficient for the purposes of the copyright Act. Pp. 581-582.
226 F.2d 623 affirmed.
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Chicago: U.S. Supreme Court, "Syllabus," Desylva v. Ballentine, 351 U.S. 570 (1956) in 351 U.S. 570 351 U.S. 571. Original Sources, accessed November 22, 2024, http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=H2AZYJEN1FV8BKS.
MLA: U.S. Supreme Court. "Syllabus." Desylva v. Ballentine, 351 U.S. 570 (1956), in 351 U.S. 570, page 351 U.S. 571. Original Sources. 22 Nov. 2024. http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=H2AZYJEN1FV8BKS.
Harvard: U.S. Supreme Court, 'Syllabus' in Desylva v. Ballentine, 351 U.S. 570 (1956). cited in 1956, 351 U.S. 570, pp.351 U.S. 571. Original Sources, retrieved 22 November 2024, from http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=H2AZYJEN1FV8BKS.
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