Left to Right: Fortnite Dancing Character, US Copyright Office Seal, TikTok logo

Literally Stealing the Show: A Brief (and Recent) History of Dance Copyright

JaQuel Knight, renowned choreographer behind Beyoncé’s “Single Ladies” and Cardi B’s “WAP,” choreography, recently made moves by launching Knight Choreography and Music Publishing Inc. Knight’s company will oversee rights to dance moves, similar to how music publishers protect the intellectual property of their own clients. In order to know why this is significant, let’s take a look back at the recent history of dance, copyright, and ALA Code of Ethics.

This album cover is attributed to the Li’l Joe Records re-release and to Virgin Megastores.

From Lawyers to Language Practices: Two Hip-Hop Professors and the Living Legacy of 2 Live Crew

In recognition of Fair Use / Fair Dealing Week, professors of hip hop A. D. Carson and Justin De Senso share insights on the place of fair use in teaching and learning, what happens when you invite lawyers to class, creating historiography-by-discography, what it’s like to send a scholarly album out for peer review, and rap ensemble 2 Live Crew’s contributions to fair use, free expression, and hip hop history.

Elsevier

SCI-HUB AS CRIMINAL: A PUBLISHER’S VIEW

My previous posting explored the phenomenon of Sci-Hub, a site dedicated to providing free access to more than 50 million academic papers without regard to their ownership status or to copyright laws. This post looks at the legal issues involved, in contrast to the previous post’s articulation of the argument for open access.

In the news: Australia

There is an interesting situation developing in Australia with potential to directly affect Australian authors, publishing, and readers. The Australian government is looking to possibly repeal the ‘parallel importation restrictions’. The PIRs are part of the country’s Copyright Act and prohibit imports by booksellers when an Australian publisher has acquired exclusive rights and publishes the title within 30 days of original overseas publication.