Legal Question in Intellectual Property in New York

Stolen property?

About three months ago I gave somebody a copy of a stage play script I'd written, to read and comment on. She never got round to it and about six weeks ago I asked her to return the script to me: out of sheer pig-headedness she refused. I sent her an email about three weeks ago asking again for the script to be returned and she did not react to the email. I contacted a NYPD midtown precinct, which advised me that if she persists in her refusal to return the script, I could file a stolen property report with them and they would send somebody to collect to script. They told me I could do it either with them or better yet in my residential precinct. I sent her a letter to that effect and she still refuses to return the script. I went to my local precinct today and they said it was a civil matter, not stolen property. When I asked why I was getting a different response from them as against the other precinct, they did not really have an asnwer. Which police version is correct? Is there a case of stolen property here? What if it was, say, a watch? If I can't file a stolen property case, can I take this to Small Claims and sue for some nominal sum (unimportaint) plus the return of the script (VERY IMPORTANT)?


Asked on 10/31/08, 7:27 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Nancy Delain Delain Law Office, PLLC

Re: Stolen property?

Taking the property of another (here, the script) and then withholding it from its rightful owner sounds to me like a tort called "conversion." This may well be actionable under tort law, but there may be a statute of limitations attached to it, so bring any legal action sooner rather than later.

You should consult with an attorney who practices tort law (you won't get many in the intellectual property area; we're all about patents and trademarks and copyrights). Run a search on civil tort lawyers on someplace like findlaw.com to find an attorney who practices in this legal field and who is in your geographic area.

Good luck.

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Answered on 10/31/08, 10:15 pm


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