The two musicals: ANNE OF GREEN GABLES - THE MUSICAL, featuring a book by Donald Harron and music by Norman Campbell, originally produced in 1965 on Prince Edward Island; and ANNE OF GREEN GABLES: A NEW MUSICAL, book and lyrics by Matte O'Brien and music by Matt Vinson, which ran at Goodspeed in 2022, have been in a legal battle over the use of the words ANNE OF GREEN GABLES in the new musical's title.
The makers of a new "Anne of Green Gables" musical and heirs of the classic children's book's author have settled their trademark dispute over the musical's name, according to a filing in Manhattan federal court.
Theater fans are used to seeing multiple shows with the same name. We all know about the dueling WILD PARTYs. Yet the producer of ANNE OF GREEN GABLES: A NEW MUSICAL has felt the need to go to court to ask the court to declare the show legally entitled to keep its name.
Last week, Canada made changes to its copyright laws, meaning books, films, songs and other works will now enter the public domain here 70 years after the death of the creator, up from the previous 50 years.