Harper Lee’s Estate Unable to Throw Award in Copyright Dispute

The estate of author Harper Lee was unable to convince a Chicago federal judge to vacate an arbitration award in favor of Dramatic Publishing Co. in a dispute over the stage play rights to the novel “To Kill a Mockingbird.”

However, Judge Matthew F. Kennelly said the $185,227 award, which came with other stipulations, didn’t adequately define the term “non-first-class rights” to describe exactly what rights Lee granted to Dramatic Publishing. He asked the arbitrator to clarify that term in an opinion for the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

“To Kill a Mockingbird,” published in 1960, ...