Copyrighting the Quotidian: An Analysis of Copyright Law for Postmodern Choreographers

Authors

Jessica Goudreault, Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law

Abstract

Part I begins with a primer on the laws of copyright. It provides an overview of the statute's history, as well as some background on particular doctrines developed through case law. Part II introduces the history of postmodern dance and the choreographer Trisha Brown, whose work will function as a case study herein. Part III analyzes Brown's work as it relates to the statutory language of copyright law and the doctrines of originality, functionality, idea/expression dichotomy, and fixation. The analysis uses Brown's work Man Walking Down the Side of a Building as a single example to provide a real sense of postmodern dance to the reader. Part IV proposes that this particular type of postmodern dance encourages greater innovation without the legal protections of copyright and argues it is best suited as a negative space in the law.

Disciplines

Civil Rights and Discrimination | Intellectual Property Law | Law | Law and Society | Legal Education

Recommended Citation

Jessica Goudreault, Copyrighting the Quotidian: An Analysis of Copyright Law for Postmodern Choreographers, 39 Cardozo L. Rev. 751 (2017).
Available at: https://larc.cardozo.yu.edu/clr/vol39/iss2/13