What is protectable under copyright law is pantomimes, the art of conveying emotions, actions and feelings by gestures. The theatrical medium where magicians work has some of the flavor of pantomimes, and Teller has used it to his advantage.
Thursday, March 27, 2014
Teller Wins Lawsuit Over Copied Magic Trick Performance
What is protectable under copyright law is pantomimes, the art of conveying emotions, actions and feelings by gestures. The theatrical medium where magicians work has some of the flavor of pantomimes, and Teller has used it to his advantage.
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3 comments:
I hope Teller wins. That's all I've really got to say about it. How can Dogge look at a trick, perform it while saying that his trick is similar to Teller's, and then later claim that it is completely different? That just doesn't make any sense. I understand the curiosity to know how magic tricks are done, but that is something that you do on your own and not perform publicly BECAUSE IT IS SOMEONE ELSE'S TRICK. I mean, the small party of friends is probably okay, but if the magician you are copying actually has a copyright on then you better back off. I hope Dogge gets a boot to the head for this.
Although I don't think Teller was wrong in that the trick was his, I have two questions. One is: where did he get that trick? No offence, and based strictly on the minimal amount I know about magicians, he probably stole or adapted it from someone else. Second, I don't think that legally he should win. The law they reference in the article clearly states he shouldn't have won, despite the technicalities.
I love penn and teller and I think the drinks they do are really innovative so I like the fact that this judge has set a precedent that these type of ideas that have probably taken many years to develop are protected. I am a big supporter of protection for artists of all sorts and I think magicians are often under-represented in this regard. Even though i support this decision, I think its interesting that the judge found in his favor, especially since the guy was just posting it online, not actually making a show or something out of it.
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