talkmagic.co.uk

Does a performer immediately have the right to perform an illusion after the purchase, or are there special "rights" required to present the illusion? Our company plans to use magic tricks within one of the segments of a new television program in development. Are "television rights" necessary for each separate magic trick presented even though the magic trick(s) have already been purchased with the intent to perform it? Steve Treague / RTC Inc. / Reaching the Children / www.riddles.org / rtc@riddles.org

It depends on the trick, some specify when you get them that they can only be used in certain conditions. I don't know about larger scale illusions but nearly everything else is fine, once you've bought it you can perform with impunity. Some effects that I've bought even come with particular instructions on how to best perform them under tv conditions.

If you're in doubt contact the originator of the effect if you know who that is.

Thank you. That was very helpful.
Steve T. / RTC Inc.

Private performance, public performance and broadcast performance are different concepts.

Tomo; Do you believe our television program will need to recieve "Broadcasting Rights" for each magic trick/illusion presented on the show? Thanks for your insight. Steve T. / RTC Inc.
We do not want to begin airing this program nationally, and then, run into law suit issues. www.riddles.org

Tomo wrote:Private performance, public performance and broadcast performance are different concepts.

In today's world thanks to hair splitting, greed ridden lawyers

I purchased a prop some years back and upon receiving it was in formed that if I were to use int on TV or within any media setting I'd be "required" to pay more money...

Now most media dates don't pay or pay nominally e.g. it is not profitable to cough up the extra bucks for most of us and pay homage to the greed driven parties involved (and trust me, more than a few of these folks are friends of mine). But they know that and there is a cunning logic to this course of action; it limits who will use said systems on Tv or within the media, leaving it more or less to the "big boys" that are willing to (and in the position to) play/pay the game e.g. the rich get richer...

For most of my life in this business such has NEVER been the case, it seems to have started with Harbin's attempt at limiting who could use his materials... an obviously failed experiment but it was still the impetus from which all this gathering of royalties comes from. That and the fact that we have far too many lawyers in this business coupled with individuals who want to equate our work with the larger music & motion picture markets... we're far (FAR) from such... maybe some day we'll wake up and realize that truth and come back down to earth a touch.

As someone that creates magic my biggest fault has always been the fact that I give away more than I sell and even when I sell, it's typically far below what I could ask. I've paid for this in many ways over the years and that includes the fact that so many see me as a bit of a bumbling fool that's set himself up for failure. But I've never been into magic (on the whole) for the sake of money... hell, I've never really made that much money in it but, I've managed to survive (barely) and more important, I've managed to fulfill my passion by giving and watching those that take what I've shared, grow.

Like I said, it's bitten me in the ass more than a few times but I also know that because of this attitude of mine, when I do ask for some form of gratuity, it's usually a bit more forthcoming and accepted... a bit of value is seen around the "ritual" of payment.

If someone buys something from me, it is THEIRS... that's how I see it.

My Stacking Televisions Illusions is a prime example... I sold the rights and exclusivity to this awesome piece of business to Steve Wyrick about a dozen years ago. He's never put it together and his thoughts in how to use it have shifted dramatically. Chances are quite strong that Steve would allow me to replicate the original idea and market it, but I've never asked... I sold him the idea, though my name is still on it, it's his! That's just how it works in a world free of lawyers and the need to "prove" something to the world when it comes to creative impetus... at least, in my mind.

riddles wrote:Tomo; Do you believe our television program will need to recieve "Broadcasting Rights" for each magic trick/illusion presented on the show? Thanks for your insight. Steve T. / RTC Inc.
We do not want to begin airing this program nationally, and then, run into law suit issues. www.riddles.org

It's something you'd need to consult a media lawyer over to get a definitive answer, but in essence it depends on the attitude of the trick vendor. If he sees his trick being broadcast to millions of people when he thought he was selling it to a private individual for personal use, he might get uppity that he's not getting the exposure himself or that no one knows it's he who invented it. It's best to be up front from the beginning. After all, assumption is the mother of all c*ck-ups