Court: Publisher Owns Steinbeck Rights

A federal appeals court has reversed a ruling that awarded John Steinbeck's son and granddaughter publishing rights to 10 of the author's early works, including "The Grapes of Wrath."

The appeals court in Manhattan said a lower court judge made a mistake in calculating that the works belonged to the son, Thomas Steinbeck, and granddaughter, Blake Smyle.

The appeals court ordered the lower court judge to rule in favor of the publishing house Penguin and the heirs of Elaine Steinbeck. Steinbeck's widow died in April 2003.