Offside: Could it be magic
An American and Flemish illusionist go head to head over a copyrighted magic trick
Antwerp court rejects €8-million claim for damages
According to Bakardy (pictured), Teller has libelled him by taking him to court alleging that Bakardy plagiarised a magic trick called Shadows, which Teller performs in his Las Vegas act. The trick consists of a rose in a bottle (Bakardy) or a white vase (Teller) that casts a shadow on a screen at the back of the stage. The illusionist appears to cut the leaves off the shadow rose, while the leaves of the real rose fall to the ground. The trick ends with Teller cutting his hand and leaving a rose-like bloodstain on the screen in his version, or with Bakardy making some new roses bloom in his.
According to the lawsuit filed in the district court in Nevada, Teller developed the illusion in 1976 and copyrighted it with the US Patent Office in 1983. He claims Bakardy stole the idea from him and would not agree to settlement terms.
The suit is blocked, however, because Bakardy has gone into hiding to avoid having legal papers served to him. Court papers say he “has evaded personal service and cannot be located”.
Not only did Bakardy’s countersuit fail, the court ordered him to pay costs of €16,500. The Nevada suit, meanwhile, is still active, and Bakardy runs the risk of being ordered to pay €300,000 to Teller – if he can ever be tracked down.
Photo credit: Gerard Bakardy/YouTube
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