Intellectual rights to magic methods

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Intellectual rights to magic methods is the extent to which proprietary or exclusive rights may subsist in the methods or processes by way magic tricks (ie. illusions) are performed, and the extent to which legal protection may therefore be available against public exposure of magic methods. Some laws such as intellectual property law may provide some protection against unauthorised exposure. However, as intellectual property laws generally do not apply to ideas or concepts (see idea-expression divide), they provide no specific protection in relation to how a magic trick is performed.

Possible legal protection

Copyright therefore does not automatically subsist in a magic trick per se, or any outcome achieved by way of such tricks. For example, according to United States copyright law:

In no case does copyright protection for an original work of authorship extend to any idea, procedure, process, system, method of operation, concept, principle, or discovery, regardless of the form in which it is described, explained, illustrated, or embodied in such work.

The description of how a magic trick is performed may constitute a work that can be protected by way of copyright. However, exposing or revealing an explanation for how a magic trick is performed generally does not constitute an act of copyright infringement. A possible exception is where an exact copy of a description, including details of a particular magician's stage adaptations of the trick, is divulged.

In practical terms, if a magician writes a pamphlet which describes how a trick works, the pamphlet will generally be subject to copyright, but the trick itself will not be. The magician would have the same exclusive rights in the written pamphlet as an author has in a book, but the magician would not be able to prevent people from doing what was described in the pamphlet.

An invention or process which facilitates the performance of a magic trick is potentially patentable, but in reality this very rarely occurs (the theatrical effect of Pepper's ghost from the 1800s being an example ^{[[Citing sources citation needed]]}). However, applying for patent protection would require the public release of information about how the device or process works. Furthermore, even if a patent is obtained, it could only be used to prevent a third party from making or using the subject matter of the patent, and could not be used to prevent anyone from revealing how the trick actually works.

The law of contract may provide some relief for magicians who seek to prevent novices from revealing their stagecraft and techniques. The provisions of an agreement may be enforced against a novice who is in breach of contract by exposing a magic method.

Information which a magician has intentionally kept confidential and which is not in the public domain may also constitute a trade secret, the unauthorised exposure of which by a third party may be legally actionable. However, the legal definition of and protection against exposure of trade secrets varies across jurisdictions.

Ethics

The most effective protection against the public exposure of magic methods may be a matter of ethical practice. One of the largest societies of magicians in the world, the International Brotherhood of Magicians, has a Code of Ethics which relevantly states:

All members of the International Brotherhood of Magicians agree to oppose the willful exposure to the public of any principles of the Art of Magic, or the methods employed in any magic effect or illusion.

The Brotherhood advises that any individual who is a professional or amateur magician should be aware that "exposing" the methods of an illusion may result in damage to their relations among other magicians.

However, such codes don't extend to selling magic, so the ideas of ethics and protection are inextricably linked with the desire to make money where it suits the magicians involved. As such the apparently ethical practices of such organisations need to be viewed in a broader light than merely approaching the situation from the viewpoint of the magician.

See also

• Attribution
• Code of non-infringement
• Exposure (magic)
• Masked Magician

References

• [US copyright office statement on non-protection of methods or principles described in copyrighted works]
• [Bitlaw page on works unprotected by copyright]
• [The International Brotherhood of Magicians (anti-exposure) code of ethics]

External links

• [Intellectual property forum] at intelprolaw.com

 

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