They Stole My Moves! The Copyright Challenges of Choreography

[1]

In the dance world, it is undoubtedly taboo to perform another choreographer’s work without their permission.[2] But is it illegal? Choreography is protected under the Copyright Act, codified in 17 U.S.C. § 102(a), but dance is a dynamic art form, and with that comes a host of challenges to copyrighting original choreography.[3] Unlike a painting or a song, choreography is made up of movements that are constantly borrowed and adapted.[4] So where does inspiration end and infringement begin?

Choreography became copyrightable for the first time in the 1976 expansion of the Copyright Act.[5] Choreography is defined as the “composition and arrangement of a related series of dance movements and patterns organized into a coherent whole”.[6] Movements such as common gestures, social dances, and exercise routines are generally excluded from protection under the Act.[7] Some examples of such movements include “the macarena” and yoga sequences.[8] On top of originality, choreographic works must be cohesive to qualify for copyright protection.[9] For example, in 2007, the Copyright Office rejected a claim for “Ode to the Endzone,” a fan created “routine” of dance moves used by football players.[10] The movements were not cohesive, rather they were a collection of singular dance moves strung together in an unorganized fashion.[11]

All copyrighted subject matter must be fixed in a tangible medium of expression for longer than a transient duration to obtain copyright protection.[12] This creates another challenge choreographers face because, unlike many other art forms, a dance can disappear the moment it is performed.[13] The work produced is not tangible in its own right.[14] To ensure protection, it is important that choreographers document their work in video, written, or some other tangible form.[15] This requirement creates a problem for an art form that is inherently physical and fleeting.

The digital age poses even more challenges for choreographers.[16] Creations are now being shared rapidly which can lead to widespread adaptation and unauthorized use.[17] The Digital Millenium Copyright Act updated copyright laws for the changing digital environment, but the speed and scale at which choreography spreads online creates questions that copyright law was not originally designed to answer.[18]

“Renegade” is a well-known example.[19] This dance was created by Jalaiah Harmon but became widely associated with influencer Charli D’Amelio, who helped popularize it without initially crediting Harmon.[20] Millions of people were performing the dance and posting videos with the assumption that Charli D’Amelio was the choreographer. .[21] While Harmon did not attempt to copyright the choreography, she publicly expressed that she sought recognition for it.[22] Her experience highlights another important distinction: copyright may provide a legal remedy for some forms of unauthorized copying, but it cannot necessarily solve the cultural problem of failing to credit the person who created a dance.[23]

The tension between protecting choreography and keeping individual dance moves in the public domain came to a head in Hanagami v. Epic Games.[24] Choreographer Kyle Hanagami sued Epic Games, alleging that one of their “emotes” in Fortnite copied portions of his copyrighted choreography.[25] Epic Games argued that “no one can own a dance step.”[26] On the contrary, Hanagami was not claiming ownership over a single movement, but over the creative arrangement and combination of movements in his larger choreographic work.[27]

Initially, a district court dismissed his claim.[28] In 2023, however, the Ninth Circuit reversed that decision, explaining that choreography cannot necessarily be reduced to a collection of individual poses.[29] Just as a musical composition can contain creative expression beyond its individual notes, a choreographic work can contain creative expression in the way movements are selected, arranged, and repeated.[30] The court recognized that these elements can themselves contain protectable creative expression.[31] The case was ultimately settled before a new trial, leaving many of the broader questions surrounding copyright and choreography unresolved.[32]

So, can someone steal your moves? Sometimes. But the answer is far more complicated than simply asking who performed a particular dance first. Choreographers have technical legal protections for their work, but originality, fixation, cohesiveness, and the distinction between an individual movement and a protectable arrangement all create hurdles that do not always exist in the same way for other art forms. As dance continues to spread through TikTok, video games, music videos, and other digital platforms, copyright law will increasingly have to confront an art form that is simultaneously creative, collaborative, constantly evolving, and built upon movement that no one person can completely own.

References

[1] Photo by Morgan Petroski, Dancing Woman on Stageb, Unsplash (Jan. 10, 2019), https://unsplash.com/photos/dancing-woman-on-stageb-LsMxdW1zWEQ.

[2] See Ale Gale, Can You Copyright Choreography? Inside the Murky Legal Landscape of TikTok Dances, Berklee Online (Dec. 9, 2024) https://online.berklee.edu/takenote/can-you-copyright-choreography-inside-the-murky-legal-landscape-of-tiktok-dances/

[3] See id. 

[4] See id. 

[5] See Atreya Mathur, et. al., Dancing with Rights: Analyzing Copyright for Choreographic Works in the United States, Ctr. for Art L. (July 22, 2024) https://itsartlaw.org/art-law/dancing-with-rights-analyzing-copyright-for-choreographic-works-in-the-united-states/

[6] See U.S. Copyright Off., Copyright Registration of Choreography and Pantomime 1,  https://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ52.pdf (last visited Sep. 27, 2026).

[7] See Mathur, supra note 5.

[8] See id.

[9] See id.

[10] See Ode to Endzone, Control No. 81-510-3843(A), at 1 (U.S. Copyright Off. Rev. Bd., Sep. 27, 2013), https://www.copyright.gov/rulings-filings/review-board/docs/Ode-to-Endzone-CORB-Final.pdf.

[11] See id.

[12] See 17 U.S.C. § 102(a)(2018); see also Mathur, supra note 5.

[13] See Steven Vargras, What Copyright Protections Do Choreographers Have Over Their Work?, Dance Mag. (Jan. 25, 2021), https://dancemagazine.com/choreography-copyright/

[14] See id.

[15] See Mathur, supra note 5.

[16] See id.

[17] See id.

[18] See The Digital Millennium Copyright Act, U.S. Copyright Off., https://www.copyright.gov/dmca/ (last visited Oct. 6, 2026),

[19] See Gale, supra note 2.

[20] See id.

[21] See id.

[22] See Ethan Shanfeld, Tiktok Star Jalaiah Harmon Gets Her Own Docuseries, The Hollywood Rep. (Oct. 1, 2021), https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/digital/tiktok-star-jalaiah-harmon-renegade-docuseries-1235030529/.

[23] See id. 

[24] See generally Hanagami v. Epic Games, Inc., 85 F.4th 931 (9th Cir. 2023).

[25] See id.

[26] See Darren Heitner, No One Can Own a Dance Step, Says Fortnite Publisher in 2 Milly Lawsuit, Heitner Legal (Feb. 12, 2019), https://heitnerlegal.com/2019/02/12/no-one-can-own-a-dance-step-says-fortnite-publisher-in-2-milly-lawsuit/.

[27] See European Innovation Council & SMEs Executive Agency, Epic Games Settles Fortnite Dance Copyright Dispute-Update on OpenAI v. Authors, IP Helpdesk (Feb. 23, 2024), https://intellectual-property-helpdesk.ec.europa.eu/news-events/news/epic-games-settles-fortnite-dance-copyright-dispute-update-openai-v-authors-2024-02-23_en.

[28] See Hanagami, Inc., 85 F.4th at 936.

[29] See id.

[30] See id at 943–46.

[31] See id.

[32] See id.