Blaustein v. Burton

In Blaustein v. Burton, 9 Cal.App.3d 161, 183, 88 Cal.Rptr. 319 (1970), the court found a triable issue of fact as to use after comparing the defendants' movie with plaintiff's idea to film Shakespeare's "The Taming of the Shrew" in Italy, with Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor starring, Franco Zeffirelli directing, and various scenes cut from or added to the play. 9 Cal.App.3d at 184, 88 Cal. Rptr. 319. In Blaustein, the court of appeal refused to find on a motion for summary judgment that the action was barred by the statute of limitations: A trier of fact might conclude that the actionable use was intended to occur the moment a preliminary script is written embodying plaintiff's idea, even if in fact no motion picture production, based upon such script, ever occurs. The court might also find that the implied promise to pay arose upon respondents' disclosure of the idea to a substantial segment of the public since such use would tend to destroy any further marketability of the idea. Id. at 186, 88 Cal.Rptr. 319.