Since the earliest days of the cinema the law has influenced the conditions in which Hollywood films are made, sold, circulated or presented - from the talent contracts that enable a film to go into production, to the copyright laws that govern its distribution and the censorship laws that may block exhibition.
Equally, Hollywood has left its own impression on the American legal system by lobbying to expand the duration of copyright, providing a highly visible stage for contract disputes and representing the legal system on screen.