This has been on my mind. What "Perfomance Rights" are given to a magician when he/she buys a trick? I've produced some plays before (in association with school), and royalties have to be paid with every perofmance. I've Never seen anything about copyrights and royalties. Well, that is not true, I have seen one. On the Healed and Sealed instructions, it says David Blaine holds the worldwide TV rights until 2005. I have a question...it's becomeing clear...clearer...It's forming..now: If I perform Jay Sankey's Paperclipped and make plenty of money off of it and other tricks, Does Jay have the right to say, "Hey Flogger! Pay up, you;ve used my trick for two years and I haven't seen a dime!" Any ideas? I'm gonna post a related question under this as well...

I purchased the Vanishing Bandana. (Great trick BTW, review coming soon). My daughter/assistant and I have decided to include written instructions instead of the Tape. This way, during our performance, one of us will read the instructions and we are both more involved. Do I have the legal rights to copy this tape word for word and use it in a performace?

As far as I know, and from what I have read, as long as a trick does not say a performer owns the rights to a trick, then no one does and you dont have to pay any royalties. It has to specifically say it in the instructions. Thats what I have read. I could be wrong though.

Isn't it assumed that when you buy a trick, you buy it with the intention of performing it? To me, it's a given. So I think it's ok to perform any trick you purchase unless it says you can't on the instructions. What I don't know about, though, is TV. Somehow I think that performing live on stage is one thing, but performing on TV or making a Video of yourself performing it (to sell and make a profit) might have to be cleared somehow. I don't know how all of this works, though. My question concerns music, though. I know there are magic CDs available with free performance rights. But I've seen many magicians using popular songs you hear on the radio. Do the artist whose songs we use have to be paid royalties? Are we free to use soundtracks from movies to perform to freely? Again, I think if you perform on TV you have to have clearance, but if you're just performing locally, live, are you free to use whatever music you choose? Does anyone know? --Henry Flaco Juarez

Most of the time if you're performing on stage the venue that you are performing in has a BMI/ASCAP license that allows you to use non-public domain music. Otherwise you have to pay the fees yourself if you want to use that Peter Gabriel song or whatever. As for performing on TV that's okay too as long as someone else hasn't gotten 'exclusive rights' to the effect. Like I'd WANT to do Healed and Sealed if I got a TV special. :-\

Hi Flogger, I am not an expert on the subject and indeed it is a question to be asked. I think perhaps they give up some of these rights by selling the trick so public. In other words they make the money from you and I buying their Ideas. If you are worried about it, I would simply ask Penguin about it. They are in the position to clearly know.-good luck and a very good question.