No.
It is a short answer and gets us out of writing a big, long-winded piece on the legalities but perhaps inadequate.
The BBC’s homepage today features Magician and Lawyer Guy Hollingworth to entertain and teach on the issue of what the law has to say about an art designed to avoid laws of nature. (They call him a “Barrister” – we presume that is the metric equivalent of our “Lawyer”)
It is comforting to see that the country from which we have derived the greater part of our legal system, has not backslid into the easy but philosophically unsound world where an idea can be protected. The United Kingdom wants to encourage innovation but draws understands it must draw the line somewhere.
In the case of magic tricks, one can patent the method to perform the effect or even copyright the patter used to describe and deceive; but one may not protect the idea behind the trick itself.
Continue reading Magic and Law: Can You Copyright a Trick?
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