The Best of the Books of Wonder

[erdnasephile]

I missed any publicity regarding this project, so I was surprised to come across it:

https://www.penguinmagic.com/p/13406

Mr. Wonder's books are two of my favorites. The material is that of a master, the writing is lucid, and everything is well-explained in enormous detail. In addition, Tommy Wonder's own L & L DVD's cover much of the best material in the books and are also quite excellent. IMHO, both of these resources make Mr. Wonder's material pretty accessible if you are willing to study. Therefore, I'm not quite sure what need this project fulfills.

I wonder (no pun intended) what you folks think about this project. Has anyone reviewed or seen the videos? If so, do they offer anything additional to the serious student?

[Tom Stone]

If so, do they offer anything additional to the serious student?

I've only seen the preview material, but I think part 6 and 9 might add something significant to the originals.

[erdnasephile]

Thanks, Mr. Stone! I'll check them out.

[Richard Kaufman]

I wonder how Tommy would feel about this.

[Tom Stone]

I wonder how Tommy would feel about this.

I think he would have been amused by part 6.
And very likely outraged by the rest. But it is in accordance with Frank's guidelines, and Penguin also own the Books of Wonder and pay royalties for those to the estate, so it isn't as bad as other things.

[Richard Kaufman]

Does Penguin pay royalties to the estate on the new videos?

[MagicbyAlfred]

I wonder how Tommy would feel about this.

I think he would have been amused by part 6.
And very likely outraged by the rest. But it is in accordance with Frank's guidelines, and Penguin also own the Books of Wonder and pay royalties for those to the estate, so it isn't as bad as other things.

If Penguin "owns" the Books of Wonders, it wouldn't make any sense that Penguin "pays royalties." Owners don't pay royalties; royalties are typically paid by licensees who are granted permission (i.e. a license) by the owner to distribute a work. This is a distinction that was also blurred on another thread. Under U.S. law, ownership of a copyright can be transferred (also known as "assigned") from the owner of the copyright to another person or entity, who then becomes the new owner. If however, the copyright owner merely grants a license to another, the copyright owner retains ownership, but the holder of the license can exercise some or all of the rights the copyright holder is entitled to exercise depending on the specifics of the contact between the copyright owner and the licensee.

And a copyright is not only a single right, it is a bundle of rights, which include the right to reproduce/make copies of a work, to perform the work, to sell/distribute the work, to publicly display the work, and to create "derivative works," for example, to make a video from the material in a book. These are sometimes known as the 5 "strands" of copyright. Depending on the situation, one or more of these 5 rights, or all of them, can be transferred from the copyright owner to another. In the case of a license, a license may sometimes even be granted by the owner to more than one other person or entity, which is thus a "non-exclusive" license. Furthermore, a copyright owner might license only some of the strands of the copyright, but not others, again, depending on the particular situation. There are a myriad of possibilities...

[AJM]

...which will now be debated to within an inch of its life.

[Curtis Kam]

I’ve only seen the Coins Across with Interlude, and the odd decision to swap a little red bag for the Boston box didn’t seem to add much. Hoping for better things in the future.


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[Tom Stone]

If Penguin "owns" the Books of Wonders, it wouldn't make any sense that Penguin "pays royalties." Owners don't pay royalties; royalties are typically paid by licensees who are granted permission (i.e. a license) by the owner to distribute a work.

Yes, you are 100% correct. I abbreviated out of laziness, which was a bit silly.

The TW estate own the copyright of Tommy's works including his writing in Books of Wonder.
Hermetic Press contributed editing, extra writing, crediting info, layout, illustrations & proofreading, and own the copyright on that.
The contract with Tommy was per edition. That a certain percentage would be paid for the distribution rights of a certain amount of copies. Once out of print, a new agreement have to be made before a new edition can be made.
When Penguin bought Hermetic Press, they took over the contracts, and as far as I known, they haven't made any changes.

[Tom Stone]

Does Penguin pay royalties to the estate on the new videos?

I hope so. Although, on closer look, probably not.

[Richard Kaufman]

Bad contract.

[MagicbyAlfred]

I wonder (no pun intended) if Tommy ever registered his name as a registered trademark with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. It appears that the videos being distributed conspicuously bear his name. Trademark can be a valuable intellectual property right and asset, and it can be inherited. And it is a unique form of protection, distinct from copyright, based on the value of one's brand. But as Richard suggests, what Penguin can or cannot do, or what they must or must not pay, may come down to what is or is not in the contract between Penguin and Tommy's estate. I certainly don't know and would not speculate. But, presumably Penguin will be profiting, or at least hopes to profit, from use of the Tommy Wonder name (i.e. brand) in connection with this series of videos. The videos themselves appear to be derivative works from the Books of Wonder, and that is a copyright issue, whereas the Tommy Wonder name may possibly be a protected trademark. Hopefully, Tommy's heirs are represented by qualified legal counsel that can protect their rights to the fullest extent possible, and see to it that they have everything coming to them to which they may be lawfully entitled.

[Tom Stone]

Hopefully, Tommy's heirs are represented by qualified legal counsel that can protect their rights to the fullest extent possible, and see to it that they have everything coming to them to which they may be lawfully entitled.

Frank, Tommy's brother, did what he could for a while to keep track of things in a world he had no foot in. Which took time away from his own business. Then there were a couple of less nice incidents, whereupon Frank let go of it all and gave the world licence to do what they want:
http://www.tommywonder.nl/catalog/licence.php

[MagicbyAlfred]

That's unfortunate.

I just wish Tommy was still around!

[Bill Duncan]

Even if you don't want to visit the site Tom linked to so that you can profit from Tommy's creations it's worth a click.

The site has YouTube links to some video of TW that you probably haven't seen before.

[Bob Farmer]

Quite apart from the legalities, the principle that should be followed is, "Do the right thing." If you're making money off a man's name, pay. It's simple. I doubt that Tommy Wonder ever considered doing, "The Best of Dan Harlan."

[MagicbyAlfred]

Quite apart from the legalities, the principle that should be followed is, "Do the right thing." If you're making money off a man's name, pay. It's simple. I doubt that Tommy Wonder ever considered doing, "The Best of Dan Harlan."

Amen.