AN EDITOR'S RIGHTS

Evening Star, Issue 18392, 28 September 1923, Page 4

AN EDITOR'S RIGHTS

AGTIOH BY NOVELIST.

A TEST CASE.

Pre-SB Association— By Telegraph—Copyright

LONDON, September 26

The legal right of an editor to cut the works of a famous novelist during semi publication has been raised by Mr Mermen MTvenna in an action against Die newspaper tho ‘Referee.’ Tho ‘ Referee ’ purchased the serial rights in the novel ‘Gloria’ for £SOO. Mr Cnmock, the editor, invited Mr MTvenna to make alterations, but Mr MTvenna refused, and on July 22 the ‘Referee’ published an instalment with heavy cuts. Mr M'Ke-nna alleged that these amounted to an infringement of his copyright, but Mr Clurnock contended that the passages were unsuitable for publication in the ‘ Referee,’ particularly two elaborate accounts of the seduction of married and unmarried women.

The ‘Referee’s’ counsel urged that a newspaper was not like a bonk, which, could bo put away if it were thought desirable. A newspaper was always open to children and servants to read. Mr AL'KcnnaA; counsel retorted thnl if tho ‘Referee’ had made a bad bargain it need not have printed the story at all, but it had no right to interfere with an author’s work.

Mr Justice M'Cardio; Did the omission of tho (wo .seduction stories injure Mr MTvenna's reputation ?

Counsel : Ho is tho best judge of his own reputation.

Ilis Honor : Excuse mo, im man is 'the best judge of his own reputation.

Counsel: He is as good a judge as an editor.

His Honor; I am not so sure of that. Mr Justice M'Cardio added that in hit view Mr MTvenna had treated tho episode with great power, great art, and- great realism. This was a question between the realistic school of novelists and the journalistic school Finally Air MTvenna decided to accept the editor’s promise not to make any further cuts in the .story pending the trial. The judge said that nothing in tho case had lowered the literary reputation of Mr MTvenna.—A. and N.Z. Coble.