City Research Online

Abstract

The UK statutory provisions and case law in copyright law currently provide a relatively broad approach to dance under dramatic works. As a result, the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act (“CDPA”) is unclear whether short dances, that consist of a few moves, can receive copyright protection.

The following paper argues that copyright protection in short dances should be governed by the proposed multi-factorial approach. To do this, this article first, from a doctrinal viewpoint, examines the law on dances under UK copyright law questioning whether short dances receive copyright protection. By examining key cases such as Norowzian v Arks and Nova Productions v Mazooma Games, this paper demonstrates that it remains uncertain whether short dances can be granted protection. Hence, from a normative lens, the article suggests how short dance should be dealt with under UK courts. By comparing the courts’ approach to all authorial works and assessing the justifications of copyright law, the article finds that the tests drawn from Exxon and Sawkins are the most appropriate. Through 2Milly’s case (Milly Rock dance), the paper will demonstrate precisely how the multi-factorial test would apply. The primary advantage of the solution is providing the content creators protection over their work and recognition.

Publication Type:	Monograph (Working Paper)
Additional Information:	Copyright 2023, the author.
Publisher Keywords:	Copyright, Law, Short Dances, IP
Subjects:	K Law > KD England and Wales
Departments:	The City Law School > Academic Programmes The City Law School > CLS Working Paper Series

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