{"id":2709,"date":"2014-04-01T12:38:08","date_gmt":"2014-04-01T12:38:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ncjolt.org\/?p=2709"},"modified":"2020-06-04T20:53:43","modified_gmt":"2020-06-04T20:53:43","slug":"its-not-my-trick-your-honor-its-my-illusion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/ncjolt\/blogs\/its-not-my-trick-your-honor-its-my-illusion\/","title":{"rendered":"It\u2019s not my trick, Your Honor, it\u2019s my illusion!"},"content":{"rendered":"

It seems only fitting that this April Fool\u2019s Day blog post shine a spotlight on a magic trick. Although, perhaps the term \u201cillusion\u201d is more appropriate here. The illusion in question, called Shadows<\/i><\/a>, is the product of famous magician Teller\u2019s imagination. While Teller\u2019s Shadows<\/i> may be the most poetic magical illusion ever crafted, it gained additional publicity in 2012 when Teller sued a Dutch magician, who had replicated the illusion and offered to sell it to curious customers. Last week, the court issued an opinion<\/a> holding that, while \u201cmagic [illusions] are not copyrightable,\u201d Teller\u2019s Shadows<\/i> is protected as a \u201cdramatic act\u201d or \u201cpantomime.\u201d
\nTeller began performing the Shadows<\/i> illusion in the 1970s, and registered it as a dramatic work with the United States Copyright Office in 1983. The illusion begins with a rose in a vase, bathed in light that casts a perfect shadow. Teller enters with a large knife, and strategically \u201ccuts\u201d part of the shadow. When the shadow is \u201ccut,\u201d the corresponding piece of the rose separates from the stem and fall. In March of 2012, Gerard Dogge posted two videos on his YouTube account<\/a>, since removed, purporting to have created a version of Shadows<\/i> \u201cdifferent and more impossible\u201d from Teller\u2019s. While the court notes that there are \u201corganizations in the magic community,\u201d demanding to be taken seriously<\/a>, that could sanction Dogge for his actions, Teller decided to protect Shadows<\/i> with claims of copyright infringement and unfair competition.<\/p>\n

While Teller\u2019s Shadows<\/i> may be the most poetic magical illusion ever crafted, it gained additional publicity in 2012 when Teller sued a Dutch magician, who had replicated the illusion and offered to sell it to curious customers. Last week, the court issued an opinion holding that, while \u201cmagic [illusions] are not copyrightable,\u201d Teller\u2019s Shadows<\/i> is protected as a \u201cdramatic act\u201d or \u201cpantomime.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Dogge advanced four claims in his defense. First, that Shadows<\/i> is a magical illusion and therefore not entitled to Copyright Protection. Second, and perhaps most puzzlingly, that Teller abandoned the copyright. Third, that Teller and others \u201copenly challenged\u201d others to copy the work. And fourth, that Teller failed to give notice that Shadows<\/i> was copyrighted. The court held that since Teller registered the illusion with such incredible detail, including the \u201cstage directions acted out as a single performer,\u201d that the illusion was a \u201cdramatic work\u201d or \u201cpantomime,\u201d both of which are clearly covered under copyright law. The court similarly dispenses with Dogge\u2019s remaining claims in quick fashion. Shadows<\/i> is one of Teller\u2019s most famous illusions, although he has a wonderfully prolific repertoire, and he has performed it regularly since its creation. Teller couldn\u2019t have abandoned it without expressly disavowing the copyright, which clearly has not happened. The court also notes that \u201cchallenging\u201d the public does not waive copyright, and that notice is not required to enforce a copyright. The court granted Teller\u2019s motion for summary judgment, and concluded that Dogger violated his copyright.
\nWhile this case does extend copyright protections to some class of magical illusions, it fails to answer any truly interesting questions. For instance, how does Teller achieve the Shadows<\/i> illusion? Or, is magic real<\/a>? The effects of this ruling are still unclear. The magic community thrives on innovation and creativity, and burdensome copyright litigation may stifle that innovation. On the other hand, copyright protection may allow magicians, like Teller, to protect truly master class illusions, like Shadows<\/i>. In a world where revealing illusions is taboo, except where it\u2019s okay<\/a>, copyright protection could be an added protection for magicians looking to define their craft.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It seems only fitting that this April Fool\u2019s Day blog post shine a spotlight on a magic trick. Although, perhaps the term \u201cillusion\u201d is more appropriate here. The illusion in question, called Shadows, is the product of famous magician Teller\u2019s imagination. While Teller\u2019s Shadows may be the most poetic magical illusion ever crafted, it gained …<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[51],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/ncjolt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2709"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/ncjolt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/ncjolt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/ncjolt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/ncjolt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2709"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/ncjolt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2709\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7474,"href":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/ncjolt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2709\/revisions\/7474"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/ncjolt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2709"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/ncjolt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2709"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/ncjolt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2709"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}