" The theme has now become so
hackneyed that, as the list given in Chapter XVI shows, it is no
longer serviceable for photoplay purposes.
Obviously, these facts are cited not to discredit the companies
referred to, but solely to emphasize the difference between the
genuinely new twist as exemplified in Conan Doyle's "The New
Catacomb," and the dangerously close similarity as exhibited in at
least one of the two photoplays just referred to as following the plot
of the _Strand_ story.
It must not be inferred, however, that all cases in which the themes
of short-stories are developed into photoplays with very little change
are plagiarisms, either conscious or unconscious. Many important
companies are negotiating constantly with the magazines for the right
to photodramatize their most suitable short-stories. Sometimes this is
done with the consent of the author and the plot of the story used
substantially without change, while in other instances the plot is
freely changed, only the germ being used. It is particularly in such
cases that we must be careful not to charge plagiarism.
In this connection it is important to note that the photoplaywright
cannot be too careful in respecting the rights of publishers and
authors in their fictional properties. To many writers it is not clear
precisely what rights an author parts with when he, without any other
stipulation, sells a short-story or a longer piece of fiction outright
to a magazine, so he must be careful in offering moving-picture rights
to a company unless he is _sure_, from a clear _understanding_ with
the magazine publisher, that he is at liberty to do so.
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