The Solution to the Knock-Off ProblemInside MagicMagic News Updated Daily for the Professional Magician

Last night, I read the story of two men with a group called Pirates With Attitude (“PWA”). The Feds (as opposed to the “Overly Feds,” which describes me) claimed that the PWA folks were hacking software to take of the copy protection and thus allowed anyone on the Internet to download the software for free. This was premium software. PWA thought that because they did not charge for the downloads, they shouldn’t be prosecuted of theft. The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals disagreed. They stole, they got caught and now they go to jail.

It got me thinking of a novel idea for the protection of inventor’s rights in Magic. I don’t know why this idea hasn’t been suggested before ? perhaps because it is either too obvious or unworkable. We, as magic-consumers, and we, as magic dealers/manufacturers, could be honest about what we are buying.

You probably live in a much better neighborhood than me so you might not be familiar with the guy that drives around in a van, pulls up a long side of you as you walk down the street, and offers to sell you great stereo equipment for rock bottom prices. I was offered a system that cost over $2,500.00 in the stores for $200.00 a while back. I didn’t have the money on me as I walked down the street in my bad neighborhood (near a major university) and I would like to think that even if I had $200.00, I wouldn’t have bought the gear.

“Where’d you get it?” I asked the salesperson who looked nervous and self-assured at the same moment.

“Why?” he asked.

“I’m just wondering,” I responded.

…

“Where’d you get it?” I asked the salesperson who looked nervous and self-assured at the same moment.

“Why?” he asked.

“I’m just wondering,” I responded.

“I have a friend who had a store that went out of business and he didn’t need it anymore so he sold it to me for nothing and I am just driving home. I have to get my money back before my wife finds out I spent it all on this equipment.”

Sounded plausible.

Sure, that could be the case. I mean, it’s possible that he had a friend who gave him a great break on stereo equipment and now the guy was having buyer’s regrets enhanced by his knowledge that his wife would kill him if she found out he bought the stuff.

But sounding plausible didn’t cut it. It would be an excuse to allow me to suppress what I knew was really happening and allow me to excuse my participation in the transfer of stolen goods. Despite his explanation, I knew it wasn’t the case. For me to buy the goods would make me a “fence” and a possessor of stolen goods. In our state, and probably yours as well, that is a crime punishable by more than a year in prison if the value of the goods exceeds $500.00 (the true value).

The application to our current crisis in Magic isn’t that difficult. Let’s divide magicians and manufacturers into a few categories: first, brand-new magicians without any experience or knowledge of the craft’s history; second, magicians with some knowledge of both the market place and the recent history; third, manufacturers or dealers just starting out in the business (such as a mom and pop shop); and finally fourth, experienced manufacturers or dealers that know the history of both the market place and the art of Magic.

For the new magician, the seven to 14 year old boy or girl that saw David Blaine on television and now wants to learn to do tricks to impress friends or perhaps even perform in public, the standard is low. We should encourage them to purchase effects that they can perform and from the people possessing the right to sell them. Chances are, the younger magician will not be able to afford a counterfeit version of Origami. He or she will likely buy effects that are well-established in the Magic’s public domain such as the Ball and Vase or Cups and Balls.

The line of effects sold by Fun Incorporated are for the most part are tricks that fit this description. It would be helpful, though, as dealers and more senior magicians encounter these young students that they teach them about the craft’s history and emphasize the need to respect the inventor’s rights. They should be taught that magicians do not and should not purchase effects that are counterfeit or stolen from an inventor. It is not only a good practice, it is one of the requirements of our ethical agreement with several of the magic associations.

The second type of magician, the amateur or semi-pro or pro, is best defined as a magician who should know better. We need to expect that a magician who has had even a slight knowledge of the business and the history of our Art knows or should know that it is very often not the cost of the prop that dictates price but the secret disclosed.

As Carlos Blades has on his wall at the Garden City Magic Shop, “No Refunds. The Secret Is Told When the Trick Is Sold.” I’m going out on a limb (but a sturdy one ? even if I am one of the “Overly Feds”) by suggesting all magicians know this maxim. It is the innovation in coming up with the secret to allow the presentation that we buy when we buy the trick. Certainly there are costs associated with the raw materials to assemble the product but we are primarily rewarding the innovator for developing the effect and the method to accomplish the effect.

If you are with me so far ? if you agree that a magician of virtually any experience beyond that of a child knows or should know that in purchasing the effect he is actually paying for the raw materials plus the innovation of the trick’s inventor ? the next part won’t be that hard.

Because we presume the magician knows or should know what he is truly buying, he has the added responsibility to buy the effect so that the correct person benefits from the purchase. If I were to have bought the stereo equipment from the back of the van, the nervous man selling it would receive the profit but the actual owner of the equipment would not be compensated. The actual owner in this case was likely not compensated at all ? the stereo equipment was stolen from him.

I had a responsibility to not enrich the person who either stole the equipment or received the stolen equipment. Why? Not just because the possession of stolen property is illegal but because it is the right thing to do. I would not want my 22 year-old Sony Betamax player stolen from my humble home and sold to a fence. It may not have much value to me but it is mine. (By the way, have you noticed there are less and less tapes available for the Beta format. The last “New Release” I have is The Daring Dobermans Go To France).

But Tim, can’t Ijust turn a blind-eye? How am I supposed to know who the true owner or inventor of the product is? I think you can come at this question from two directions. First, you can probably determine who the true inventor is not. You can walk into a magic store and see essentially the same effect, with the same materials, for two different prices; one dramatically lower than the other. You have to figure there is some reason for the higher price and it is doubtful the owner of the store will tell you that one of the two tricks is a knock-off.

But there should be some concern and further investigation before you buy either of the two items. (Just because the effect costs more doesn’t necessarily mean it is the original ? it could just be more costly or have better quality than the other item). Remember, we’re talking about tricks that are not in the public domain. After all, you can buy a Cups and Balls set ranging in price from $1.50 to $2,400.00 but I think we would all agree, this is in the public domain.

The second method to ensure that the true inventor or owner is rewarded for his ingenuity is to ask. Again, it is unlikely the magic storeowner will volunteer the information but if asked, you might get some insight. But it is your responsibility as a magician to make reasonable inquiries to ensure you are not buying a knock-off.

If you’re reading this now, you have at your disposal a great tool for quick background information on virtually any effect on the market today through the Internet. Put up a posting on Magic Caf? or the Genii Forum or even in the Magic newsgroups such as alt.magic. I am willing to wager that with in a few hours of your post, you’ll receive the responses you need to make the correct and informed decision. Magicians are good that way.

You can turn a blind eye to the issue but you and I know that is wrong. By intentionally avoiding the truth or intentionally not seeking the truth, ethically you are responsible for knowing the truth nonetheless.

So much for the buying community and their responsibilities.

The manufacturer and dealers are held to a much higher level in my ethical model. Whether a “mom and pop” magic store or a sophisticated magic dealer or manufacturer, the dealer/manufacturer knows or should know the history of the effect they are buying and selling to the magic public. In the case of items they might find sourced by Collector’s Workshop but are also available from a manufacturer overseas at a significantly reduced price, there is no reason a dealer should buy or sell the knock-off.

If the dealer is not sure whether an effect has come from the inventor or his licensed distributor, it is the dealer’s obligation to find out. The dealer should be held to the same standard as I would have been held to when approached by the guy in the van with the stereo equipment. As a former dealer, I know it is tough to make business work or at least avoid losing money each month. But we as magicians have to reward the dealers that act ethically and punish those that do not follow the rules and will sell knock-off materials.

As for the manufacturers, they should be held to the highest standard. Before the manufacturer releases a product for wholesale or retail, the manufacturer must determine that the product is not a copy or knock-off of an established effect. This doesn’t mean the manufacturer cannot offer an effect that is an improvement on a prior trick but we have to be honest about what is an “improvement” and what is merely some token change to justify ripping-off the inventor.

I realize there is gray through out this map leading us to a solution but the fact that a situation is not clearly right or wrong does not remove from us the obligation to think and research before acting. If we as a community want rip-offs to stop, we can stop them. But if we are willing to turn a blind-eye to the problem and reward those who have stolen from those who should be rewarded, we will fail. If we fail, however, we damn our craft with mediocre effects without innovation.