The making of this movie brought about the first-ever question of film rights to an author's work. Harper's, the publisher of Lew Wallace's novel, sued Kalem, the movie's producers, for copyright infringement. After fighting the case for four years, Kalem finally settled for $25,000.
Adapted from the book without permission. The producers were sued by Lew Wallace's son, by his publisher, and by the producers of an authorized stage version. The case went all the way to the supreme court and established that movie adaptations are indeed covered by copyright law. The film was ordered destroyed, but at least one copy survived, and is available online.