Steinbeck Heirs Should Get Rights to His Books, Federal Judge Rules

A New York federal judge has ruled that the son and a granddaughter of Nobel Prize-winning author John Steinbeck hold the book publishing rights to “Of Mice and Men,” “The Grapes of Wrath” and eight other early classics.

The ruling was a setback for Penguin Group Inc., which could lose the rights to Steinbeck books that it has held for decades.

Mark S. Lee, a lawyer representing the author’s surviving son, Thomas Steinbeck, of Montecito, Calif., and granddaughter Blake Smyle of Boonesboro, Md., said the ruling last week was the latest chapter of a long-running family dispute over who will control the rights to the works of the California author.

The parties also include the estate of Steinbeck’s third wife, Elaine Steinbeck, who died in 2003. Her heirs opposed the termination of Penguin’s rights.

“My clients essentially allege that they’ve been deprived of other interests of Steinbeck works going back 30 years,” Lee said late Monday.

Penguin was “disappointed” with the ruling, spokeswoman Maureen Donnelly told the Associated Press. Donnelly said the ruling was “the first round in what will be a very long and complicated process” and that the “purported termination will not take effect for most of them for many years in the future.”

U.S. District Judge Richard Owen in Manhattan ruled that copyright laws allowed heirs to renegotiate the rights to the works of authors such as Steinbeck, whose value has soared since his first book, “Cup of Gold,” was published in 1929.

Owen, the author of a number of produced operas, has ruled in other intellectual property cases. He famously held that George Harrison had engaged in “subconscious” plagiarism because his song “My Sweet Lord” so closely paralleled the John Mack tune “He’s So Fine.”

In the Steinbeck case, Owen said the heirs had the right to terminate contracts to allow “creators or their heirs appropriate reward for the artistic gifts to our culture.”

Other important Steinbeck works that are affected by the ruling include “Tortilla Flats,” “In Dubious Battle” and “The Red Pony,” Lee said.

Lee said Owen also approved his clients’ petition to terminate commitments to other parties for motion picture rights to “The Long Valley” and “The Red Pony.”

Owen did not approve their request to terminate film rights to “The Wayward Bus” and theatrical rights to “Cannery Row.”

Under current copyright law, it could take years for the termination to take effect, Lee said.

“If Penguin chose to appeal, that would be the next step,” he said. He said the estate of Elaine Steinbeck -- which comprises a number of her heirs -- could also choose to appeal.

“It could easily take years,” Lee said, “before this matter is finally resolved.”