Can I Copyright my Dance moves?

With the rise of the tik tok dance, this is an important question and the answer is, well, it depends.

The U.S.Copyright Office rule is that only original work consisting of the composition and arrangement of a related series of dance movements and patterns organized into a coherent whole may obtain copyright privileges. Generally, to be a “choreography” the Copyright Office requires that the dance is a rhythmic movement in a defined sequence and a defined spatial environment. Additionally, the choreography has to be a series of movements or patterns organized into an integrated, coherent, and expressive compositional whole. Further, the moves have to tell a story, theme, or abstract composition conveyed through movement and the dance has to be presented before an audience by skilled individuals and have a musical or textual accompaniment.

If your original choreography passes the first regulatory test, you then have to be able to describe your moves in enough detail so that the work can be consistently performed and recognized. This means that all of the movements or aspects of the choreography must have words and graphic descriptions associated with them. The report that describes the choreography will be submitted to the U.S. Copyright office for approval.

The most accepted way to provide a description of choreography is to use a symbol system known as Labanotation. Contact us to learn how to stage your dance and get the Labanotation report needed to copyright your dance. It’s a lot of work to get your dance move or tik tok copyright protection. But if you, with our help, do get to copyright your moves, you will have a claim for copyright infringement whenever your creation or work is performed, reproduced, distributed or adapted.

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