Copyright in the Contemporary Circus Art

Abstract

The article is dedicated to the research of the problems of obtaining and protecting copyright in the circus industry, the problem of plagiarism in circus art, and the problem of professionalism in the circus performing arts. In Ukraine there is no special Law on Circuses. Because of that there are some difficulties with the application of the Law on Copyright to Circus Arts, in particular to the original stunts, acts and show programs created by circus performers and directors. In the EU, copyright issue is also an important factor for circus artists. The circus performer as a creator of the original act needs legal protection of an individual artistic creation, but it is very difficult to prove and legally justify the individual features of a certain stunt in the circus art. Another performer may bring some small changes to the same trick, and declare it as his original one, and even prove that it differs from the one created by another artist. In the Circus Art, the reproduction and copying of stunts is more in the field of ethics than of legal issues. There is no obvious and quick solution of this problem today.