Houdini your way toward a copyright
Harry Houdini doesn’t just have a magic legacy. He was also innovative, coming up with the Chinese Water Torture Cell performance. Even though he couldn’t patent it – since you can’t protect magic tricks through that process and revealing the secret would defeat the purpose – he still gave audiences something new to enjoy and be amazed by.
Instead of worrying about others stealing his act, Houdini found a way to secure his magical property. He performed the trick for one audience member and then quickly filed to copyright the act. So, he was free to do the act without worry for the rest of his life and 70 years after.