From: "MacGyverMagic/Mgm" macgyvermagic@gmail.com
In a previous discussion it was determined that most magic tricks aren't patented (for fear of revealing the method) or copyrighted (only the way it's written down in a book or recorded on a DVD or video is copyrighted). However, isn't exposure of commercially available effects considered [[piracy]] then?
I am not a lawyer.
If they're not protected by patents or copyrights, how could it be "piracy?" I'd have thought that if there were no patents or copyrights, there'd be no "intellectual property" and hence nothing to "steal."
I don't see how it can be a trade secret, either. If the trick were kept secret from the purchaser there'd be no value to it. I suppose it's ''possible'' to imagine selling a piece of stage magic equipment that could be used by a performer who did not know or understand how it worked, but that must be rare.
Finally, if exposure of magic tricks constituted "piracy" then you'd think this would have long since been established in court, and that the cases involved would be well-known within magicians' circles. Are there any such cases?
On Mon, 15 Jan 2007 17:39:14 -0500, "Daniel P. B. Smith" wikipedia2006@dpbsmith.com wrote:
If they're not protected by patents or copyrights, how could it be "piracy?" I'd have thought that if there were no patents or copyrights, there'd be no "intellectual property" and hence nothing to "steal."
WP:RS is your friend. If the method is described in a reliable and reasonably authoritative source, they will probably get sued before we do. Of course, that might make it copyright....
Guy (JzG)
Guy Chapman aka JzG wrote:
Daniel P. B. Smith wrote:
If they're not protected by patents or copyrights, how could it be "piracy?" I'd have thought that if there were no patents or copyrights, there'd be no "intellectual property" and hence nothing to "steal."
WP:RS is your friend. If the method is described in a reliable and reasonably authoritative source, they will probably get sued before we do. Of course, that might make it copyright....
I think that words like "piracy" and "steal" in this context are buzzwords promoted by the entertainment industry to demonize any kind of free access to information.
Reliable sources may be hard to come by when an atmosphere of secrecy prevails. These "secrets" are largely "how to" instructions. Anyone with a pet elephant around the hous can try the trick of levitating an elephant at home just to prove that it can be done.
In the great recipe debate the argument that recipes were a set of such instructions was the reason used for transferring them to Wikibooks. This did not detract from their having a place in our wikiworld.
Ec
On 15/01/07, Daniel P. B. Smith wikipedia2006@dpbsmith.com wrote:
Finally, if exposure of magic tricks constituted "piracy" then you'd think this would have long since been established in court, and that the cases involved would be well-known within magicians' circles. Are there any such cases?
According to the [[Business Model Entitlement Act]] of 2008, sponsored by the RIAA and MPAA, all technology and communications that affects existing business models must bow down before them. This is also why Commons has been shut down so as not to take away the market for professional photographers and for Getty Images.
- d.