Teller Wins Lawsuit Over Copied Magic Trick Performance..
Eriq Gardner writes a detailed article for the Hollywood Reporter…
Teller is widely known as a great magician, but he has just pulled off a feat that is without equal among his peers. He has prevailed in a lawsuit against another magician who put up a copycat illusion on YouTube.
Technically speaking, magic tricks aren’t copyrightable. In a ruling by a Nevada federal court on Thursday, U.S. District Judge James Mahanstates that explicitly.
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.
Teller’s magic performance was called Shadows and is described as such:..