copyright a magic trick?

[FlyingRon]

Half of Teller's complaint is also unfair trade practices (really trademark) issues.

 

[quincy]

Half of Teller's complaint is also unfair trade practices (really trademark) issues.

I have been only marginally aware of Teller's latest suit, mostly from reading the articles published about it. Teller is going to have a difficult time proving up his claims, I'm afraid - but he definitely has the money to pursue his alleged infringer, which helps. And the fellow does not seem to be all that bright, which also helps.

 

[justalayman]

There have been, as I said, several suits filed by magicians in the past and the magicians do not fare well in these suits. The legal actions best taken by magicians would not be in protecting their magic tricks but in protecting their performances of it. Herein lies Teller's best hope for a successful outcome of his copyright claim - if, that is, the videos said to be infringing on Teller's rights are ever found or recovered through computer forensics (doubtful at this point).

but realizing that regardless of the outcome, the defendant will spend considerable sums of money to defend himself so, win or lose, it will cost him money. I presume Teller is well to do and this is not going to injure him financially. I suspect even if he loses his court action, he will have made his point and also have the added publicity it provides him as well as giving notice to others; I will react if you poke me. Poke me hard enough and I will hunt you down and I will hurt you.
--------------------------------------------
as the mastercard commercials used to say>

cost of stealing a trick- free
cost of defending the lawsuit- $$$$$$
Teller's benefit regardless of the outcome- priceless
--------------------------------------------
Teller wins in court, he wins.

Teller loses in court, he still wins.

 

[quincy]

but realizing that regardless of the outcome, the defendant will spend considerable sums of money to defend himself so, win or lose, it will cost him money. I presume Teller is well to do and this is not going to injure him financially. I suspect even if he loses his court action, he will have made his point and also have the added publicity it provides him as well as giving notice to others; I will react if you poke me. Poke me hard enough and I will hunt you down and I will hurt you.
--------------------------------------------
as the mastercard commercials used to say>

cost of stealing a trick- free
cost of defending the lawsuit- $$$$$$
Teller's benefit regardless of the outcome- priceless
--------------------------------------------
Teller wins in court, he wins.

Teller loses in court, he still wins.

Yup. That is how I see it.

I think revolutionmagic may be doing some poking he may soon regret - and I still advise that he finds an IP professional in his area for a review of the notice of infringement and the facts surrounding its issuance. Some rights-holders may go away quietly. Others may not.

 

[Dave1952]

Let's start over. The OP goes to a web-site where magic trick "secrets" may be downloaded. Got a URL? He enters into an agreement and downloads a video. He then masters the trick. He then makes his own video of the trick and it's "secret". Do I have the scenario right so far? He puts his own video on YouTube. He gets a message from YouTube about copyrights and pirated stuff. YouTube yanks his video.
I think YouTube sent out a generic "copyright" message but that the real issue is that the OP has violated the agreement that was part of the original purchase. I could be wrong but I want to know where the OP got the original "secret". I do not believe that this has anything to do with copyright, I think he has breached a contract.

 

[quincy]

Let's start over. The OP goes to a web-site where magic trick "secrets" may be downloaded. Got a URL? He enters into an agreement and downloads a video. He then masters the trick. He then makes his own video of the trick and it's "secret". Do I have the scenario right so far? He puts his own video on YouTube. He gets a message from YouTube about copyrights and pirated stuff. YouTube yanks his video.
I think YouTube sent out a generic "copyright" message but that the real issue is that the OP has violated the agreement that was part of the original purchase. I could be wrong but I want to know where the OP got the original "secret". I do not believe that this has anything to do with copyright, I think he has breached a contract.

revolutionmagic has nicely avoided answering the question about copyright notices and/or the terms of purchase on the magic-trick video, hasn't he?

It sounds like, from what he has posted, that revolutionmagic received a DMCA takedown notice from the copyright holder and that is why the video was pulled by YouTube. revolutionmagic now has to decide whether to file a counter notice which challenges the removal of his video, or walk away from his video (and hope he is not sued anyway).

Certainly facts matter, and what is best for him to do will rest on how exactly his YouTube video was described, if there was a link to a pirated copy of a magic-trick video in the description, if his video content infringes on anyone else's rights (copyright, patent, trademark), and if the one who filed the notice against him is the litigious sort.

Whenever you receive an infringement notice of any kind, it is generally smart to check it out with an attorney, who can tell you how best to respond.