{"id":21601,"date":"2024-12-09T10:48:36","date_gmt":"2024-12-09T15:48:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/online.berklee.edu\/takenote\/?p=21601"},"modified":"2025-10-29T11:17:19","modified_gmt":"2025-10-29T16:17:19","slug":"can-you-copyright-choreography-inside-the-murky-legal-landscape-of-tiktok-dances","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/online.berklee.edu\/takenote\/can-you-copyright-choreography-inside-the-murky-legal-landscape-of-tiktok-dances\/","title":{"rendered":"Can You Copyright Choreography? Inside the Murky Legal Landscape of TikTok Dances"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-berklee-experts-explain-how-copyright-law-applies-to-viral-dances-and-who-really-owns-the-moves\">Berklee Experts Explain How Copyright Law Applies to Viral Dances and Who Really Owns the Moves<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"background-color:#EFF1F3; text-align:left; vertical-align: middle; padding:20px 47px;\"><p>\n<B>Note<\/B>: Recent developments regarding the future of TikTok in the United States have raised questions about its accessibility. While legal rulings may affect the availability of the platform, the discussions around intellectual property rights and choreography remain relevant across all social media.<\/div><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What are the legal ramifications if someone steals your dance moves? Can you sue them? This issue has become increasingly common with the rise of TikTok, where dance moves are frequently copied, shared, and also emerging in other social media and video games.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-hey-that-s-my-move\"><strong>\u2018Hey, That\u2019s My Move!\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Ruka White, who teaches the <em><a href=\"https:\/\/online.berklee.edu\/courses\/iconic-dance-and-urban-movement?campaign_id=7010Z000001ZkQgQAK&amp;pid=&amp;utm_source=takenote&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_campaign=bol-gen-takenote-link-from-article\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\">Iconic Dance and Urban Movement<\/a><\/em> course at Berklee Online says he never imagined he\u2019d see somebody steal his moves\u2014until one of his students used his choreography in an audition that he was judging for a performing arts high school, without his knowledge.&nbsp;<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cShe starts moving and I\u2019m like, \u2018Oh, this is my dance that I choreographed that I forgot I choreographed in her class,\u2019\u201d says White.&nbsp;&nbsp;<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The high school dancer likely didn\u2019t know that it was a faux pas to use someone else\u2019s choreography without permission. In this instance, White found it flattering that the student liked his choreography so much that she decided to use it for her audition, but this is not always the case. Using someone else\u2019s choreography without giving credit or getting permission is discouraged in the arts community and often has social repercussions; however, it falls into murky waters legally. In this article, we\u2019ll talk with three experts who teach at Berklee in the fields of dance and music law to help parse out the intricacies.&nbsp;<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cFrom a technical standpoint, yes, you can copyright choreography,\u201d says White, \u201cbut I think the amount of shame and the amount of ridicule that could come as a result of doing something like that is enough to not do it.\u201d <br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-how-dance-copyright-differs-from-music-copyright\">How Dance Copyright Differs from Music Copyright<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>For musicians, copyrights are more straightforward. It\u2019s understood that attaining a copyright is extremely important for the protection of tangible ideas of original work such as lyrics as well as the melodic and harmonic compositions inside songs. According to the Copyright Act established in 1976, choreographies are one of the eight types of copyrightable works, however, the concept of copyrights in relation to dance is trickier than in music.&nbsp;<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe Copyright Act allows for the protection of choreography, but it doesn\u2019t cover all types of dance,\u201d says White. \u201c<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=1HaXZ4rMB2U\" target=\"_blank\">The Macarena<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ZRsan_COiD0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\">the Charleston<\/a>, <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=5jBkoEM0SSE\" target=\"_blank\">the Electric Slide<\/a>, and traditional folk dances are generally not protected since they are often considered public domain or too basic to qualify as original.\u201d<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The next thing you might be asking yourself is \u201cwhat constitutes choreography?\u201d According to White, choreography can be described as a \u201cdance that must be recorded or notated in some way, and must exhibit a degree of creativity that goes beyond simple movement.\u201d In this instance, it is safe to infer that choreography is a specific combination of isolated movements where dancers generally use their creativity to build off of already existing movements to create something new. What is not copyrightable would be the isolated movements by themselves, such as everyday body movements, ballet poses, and yoga positions.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Copyrighting a choreography can be uncertain because iconic dance moves have been used as inspiration for the creation of new choreographies.&nbsp;<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-iconic-dance-moves-and-the-influence-of-borrowing\">Iconic Dance Moves and the Influence of Borrowing<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cMichael Jackson borrowed a lot,\u201d says White, \u201cHe was an iconic artist, but even he borrowed and copied extreme examples of a lot of the performances of Bob Fosse.\u201d <br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"1974 film The Little Prince of Bob Fosse`s dance style and fashion Influenced Michael Jackson\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/qBJ0-VTmESY?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Michael Jackson\u2019s famous moonwalk is an example of this instance as it was actually claimed to be created by Jeffery Daniels, who then taught it to Michael Jackson. In reality, the origins of the moonwalk and Michael Jackson\u2019s other choreographies come from past generations.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Shalamar - Jeffrey Daniel - The MoonWalk - Top Of The Pops - The Story Of 1982\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/iG2YB9pp484?start=191&#038;feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Just like any other original choreography, transforming dance copyrights is difficult to determine. White emphasizes that \u201csweeping infringement often requires showing that accused work copied substantial, recognizable parts of the original choreography, which can be subjective.\u201d&nbsp;<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There have not been many cases regarding dance copyright infringement because most of the cases do not proceed in court due to the lack of substantial evidence. This was almost the case with Kyle Hanagami, a choreographer who created a dance for the song \u201cHow Long\u201d by Charlie Puth, which was later used by Epic Games, owners of the video game <em>Fortnite<\/em>.&nbsp;<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Fortnite Infringement of Kyle Hanagami Choreography\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/vXYDr9o_FJY?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Hannagami\u2019s dance moves were used as \u201cemotes\u201d that users could purchase inside the video game in which case, Hannagami was not credited or financially compensated for his original work.&nbsp;<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Valerie Lovely, who authored the Berklee Online course <em><a href=\"https:\/\/online.berklee.edu\/courses\/music-business-law-for-artists?campaign_id=7010Z000001ZkQgQAK&amp;pid=&amp;utm_source=takenote&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_campaign=bol-gen-takenote-link-from-article\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\">Music Business Law for Artists<\/a><\/em>, explains that since Hannagami had registered his choreography with the Copyrights Office, he was able to sue Epic Games. But that doesn\u2019t mean he was successful right away.&nbsp;<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe lower court looked at every single dance move by itself and determined that each move wasn\u2019t original enough to qualify for copyright, so they ruled against him,\u201d says Lovely, \u201cHe appealed and then the appeals to court got it right because it\u2019s not supposed to be looking at the individual dance moves; it\u2019s supposed to be looking at how those dance moves are put together to create the choreography, so he won his case on appeal.\u201d&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-tiktok-and-the-challenges-of-dance-copyright-in-the-digital-age\">TikTok and the Challenges of Dance Copyright in the Digital Age<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>With the rise of TikTok\u2014where anyone can create dances that can easily become famous trends\u2014the courts will likely see more and more choreography copyright cases.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cCertainly there are going to be scenarios where people might be stealing your dance and you don\u2019t know it,\u201d says Allen Bargfrede, who teaches <em><a href=\"https:\/\/online.berklee.edu\/courses\/copyright-law?campaign_id=7010Z000001ZkQgQAK&amp;pid=&amp;utm_source=takenote&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_campaign=bol-gen-takenote-link-from-article\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\">Copyright Law<\/a><\/em> at Berklee Online. \u201cI think one of the challenges in social media is that there are just so many posts. It\u2019s really hard for you to police the internet and try to find the people that are stealing your copyright.\u201d&nbsp;&nbsp;<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When it comes to social media platforms, the US adopted the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), which specifically addresses copyrights inside the internet. \u201cIf you create an original choreography and post it on TikTok, it\u2019s automatically copyrighted to you as soon as it\u2019s fixed in a tangible form,\u201d says White. Therefore, when posting on social media, all users have the right to their work and are able to file a DMCA takedown notice, which allows infringing videos to be taken down.&nbsp;<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Lovely highlights the fact that dances have considerably less protections than sound recordings.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWith music, you\u2019ve got record labels that are monitoring and coming forward about sound recordings that are being used without permission,\u201d says Lovely. \u201cChoreographers don\u2019t really have that system in place to advocate their rights, so people violate these rights and usually there aren\u2019t many consequences for it.\u201d&nbsp;<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Since it is almost impossible to know whether the dance will blow up on TikTok and there is no proper compensation, dancers do not often feel the need to register their choreographies, which was the case with popular influencers in 2020.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-will-the-real-renegade-creator-please-stand-up-and-dance\">Will the Real <em>Renegade<\/em> Creator Please Stand Up &#8230; And Dance?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In 2019 Charli D\u2019Amelio became TikTok famous by dancing to different trends such as the <em>Renegade<\/em>, which was created by Jalaiah Harmon\u2014a Black teenager from Atlanta. In this case, D\u2019Amelio received more attention, did not credit Harmon, and eventually TikTok fame led to something more when she signed with a talent agent, and got <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"a spot in a Super Bowl commercial (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@sabra\/video\/6788158205898902790\" target=\"_blank\">a spot in a Super Bowl commercial<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"an article in the New&nbsp;York&nbsp;Times (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2020\/02\/13\/style\/the-original-renegade.html\" target=\"_blank\">an article in the <em>New&nbsp;York&nbsp;Times<\/em><\/a> identified Harmon as the originator of the<em>&nbsp;Renegade<\/em>, the online backlash against D\u2019Amelio was swift, and from that point forward she vowed to consistently acknowledge the creators of the dances she performed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>D\u2019Amelio later recorded a TikTok where she and Addison Rae (who you\u2019ll read about in a moment if you\u2019re not already familiar!) dance <em>behind<\/em> Harmon, showing appropriate deference to the original <em>Renegade<\/em>, not only giving Harmon credit for the dance, but also helping promote <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"Harmon\u2019s TikTok account (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@jalaiahharmon?lang=en\" target=\"_blank\">Harmon\u2019s TikTok account<\/a>. Though D\u2019Amelio did the right thing by crediting Harmon and boosting her presence on TikTok, it\u2019s hard to ignore the imbalance\u2014D\u2019Amelio boasts over 155 million TikTok followers, while Harmon has only a fraction of that at 3.3 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"The Story of Renegade | Episode 2 | I AM: JALAIAH | TOGETHXR\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/SUi-clEwKzg?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Similarly, Addison Rae was invited to perform TikTok trends on Jimmy Fallon\u2019s <em>Tonight Show<\/em> without crediting the choreographers or the original dancers, which developed into a similar debate regarding cultural appropriation, since Black creators were behind the choreography of most of these TikTok dances.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Seeking to rectify the situation, Fallon invited the creators of TikTok famous dance trends on his show to make amends for the Addison Rae segment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"TikTok Creators Break Down and Perform Their Viral Dances | The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Bdal1YTQjIY?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Despite the severe accusations, no legal charges were filed in either the <em>Renegade<\/em> situation or the Fallon situation. All parties who were criticized for co-opting the choreographies preemptively took the high road before any courts intervened and invited the originators of the dances into their spotlights. Yet an unfairness remains: choreographers might receive proper credit for their work, but never the same recognition as those who performed their dances.&nbsp;<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-when-to-register-your-moves\">When to Register Your Moves<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAs a lawyer, I advise my clients to file their copyrights,\u201d says Lovely, \u201cbecause if you have the filing, you have the ability to sue or write a strongly-worded letter saying, \u2018I own this copyright,\u2019 which they can look up to confirm.\u201d&nbsp;<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to Bargfrede, one should register their work in the copyright office when it has the potential to become a monetizable asset.&nbsp;<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWhen you start to think, \u2018That is gonna have legs,\u2019\u201d he says.&nbsp; \u201cThere are some songwriters who write hundreds of songs a year, and go through the effort and pay the money to register every one of them when, and you know, they might only get streamed twice.\u201d&nbsp;<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Inside the music industry, the Copyright Act not only credits artists and musicians for sound recordings and compositions, but also enables artists to receive financial compensation for their hard work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Unfortunately, the system does not work the same when it comes to dance copyrights. Copyrighting a dance gives you the rights to claim it and ask for the takedown of any tangible display of the choreography. However, many times creators are unsure when it is truly necessary (or financially worth it) to take this step since artists never know if their content will become as famous.&nbsp;<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Navigating copyright infringement and protecting your choreography in the era of TikTok dances is becoming increasingly important. See how Berklee Online instructors advise you on laying down the law when trying to get your dance to trend.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":92,"featured_media":21618,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,9564,9568],"tags":[9474,9485,9477,6097,9473,351,6564,352,9480,8920,9476,9481,734,9479,911,9475,9478,9483,9484,9482,7714,9472,8538],"class_list":["post-21601","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles","category-features-articles","category-music-business-articles","tag-addison-rae","tag-bob-fosse","tag-charli-damelio","tag-charlie-puth","tag-choreography","tag-copyright","tag-copyright-infringement","tag-copyright-law","tag-epic-games","tag-fortnite","tag-jalaiah-harmon","tag-jeffery-daniels","tag-jimmy-fallon","tag-kyle-hanagami","tag-michael-jackson","tag-renegade","tag-ruka-white","tag-the-charleston","tag-the-electric-slide","tag-the-macarena","tag-tiktok","tag-tiktok-dances","tag-valerie-lovely"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v25.8 (Yoast SEO v25.8) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Can You Copyright Choreography? Inside the Murky Legal Landscape of TikTok Dances - Berklee Online Take Note<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Protect your moves and your rights in the era of TikTok dances, with tips on choreography and copyright from top Berklee Online instructors.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/online.berklee.edu\/takenote\/can-you-copyright-choreography-inside-the-murky-legal-landscape-of-tiktok-dances\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Can You Copyright Choreography? 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