Hastings Communications and Entertainment Law Journal Volume 36 | Number 1 Article 5 1-1-2014 Copyright and Choreography: The egN ative Costs of the Current Framework for Licensing Choreography and a Proposal for an Alternative Licensing Model Matt Kovac Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.uchastings.edu/ hastings_comm_ent_law_journal Part of the Communications Law Commons, Entertainment, Arts, and Sports Law Commons, and the Intellectual Property Law Commons Recommended Citation Matt Kovac, Copyright and Choreography: The Negative Costs of the Current Framework for Licensing Choreography and a Proposal for an Alternative Licensing Model, 36 Hastings Comm. & Ent. L.J. 137 (2014). Available at: https://repository.uchastings.edu/hastings_comm_ent_law_journal/vol36/iss1/5 This Note is brought to you for free and open access by the Law Journals at UC Hastings Scholarship Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Hastings Communications and Entertainment Law Journal by an authorized editor of UC Hastings Scholarship Repository. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. Copyright and Choreography: The Negative Costs of the Current Framework for Licensing Choreography and a Proposal for an Alternative Licensing Model by MATT KOVAC* Abstract Although approaches rooted in copyright law are available, choreographers tend to rely instead on contract law in order to control distribution of their work; choreographers license their ballets to dance companies via contracts which are typically negotiated on an ad hoc basis. This relatively conservative approach allows choreographers to maintain tight artistic control over subsequent reproductions of their ballets, but it comes at a cost to both the dance community and the general public.