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Dance Copyright Enforced by DMCA

Posted by Zonk on from the seventh-layer-of-awesome dept.

goombah99 writes "The "creator" of the Dance move known as the electric slide has filed a DMCA based takedown notice for videos he deems to infringe and because they show "bad dancing". He is also seeking compensation from the use of the dance move at a wedding celebration shown on the Ellen Degeneres Show. Next up, the Funky Chicken, the moonwalk, and the Hustle? More seriously, does the DMCA have any limit on its scope?"

11 of 402 comments (clear)

  1. This guys is lucky. by Whiney+Mac+Fanboy · · Score: 5, Funny

    Richard Silver is lucky that noone's managed to copyright crap web pages. His page (with animated email gif & quicktime plugin required) does not leave a font, colour, alignment, highlighting, style or indentation untouched.

    My eyeballs feel.... violated.

    --
    There are shills on slashdot. Apparently, I'm one of them.
    1. Re:This guys is lucky. by Dutch+Gun · · Score: 5, Funny

      "I don't want future generations having to learn it wrong and then relearn it as I am being faced with now because of certain sites and (people) that have been teaching it incorrectly and without my permission."

      I'll just file that under "taking yourself waaaay to seriously."

      --
      Irony: Agile development has too much intertia to be abandoned now.
  2. Another Misleading Article Title by Babbster · · Score: 5, Insightful

    1) The DMCA is not an organization, it is a law. Laws get enforced. They don't go around doing the enforcing.
    2) The claim has yet to be upheld (enforced) by any court or other governmental body.
    3) Even if the letter is acted upon and the video is removed, that still doesn't indicate whether or not the DMCA is being properly applied (if not, then the DMCA can't be demonized in this situation). All it means is that someone decided removing the video was the easiest way to handle a potential problem.

    1. Re:Another Misleading Article Title by PapayaSF · · Score: 5, Informative

      True, but apparently you can copyright choreography:

      Choreography and pantomimes are also copyrightable dramatic works. Choreography is the composition and arrangement of dance movements and patterns usually intended to be accompanied by music. As distinct from choreography, pantomime is the art of imitating or acting out situations, characters, or other events. To be protected by copyright, pantomimes and choreography need not tell a story or be presented before an audience. Each work, however, must be fixed in a tangible medium of expression from which the work can be performed.
      --
      Q: What does the "B." in Benoit B. Mandelbrot stand for? A: Benoit B. Mandelbrot
    2. Re:Another Misleading Article Title by WhiteWolf · · Score: 5, Funny

      "I feel a SONG coming on!"

      Old Man, there's no need to feel down
      I said Old Man, pick your feet off the ground
      I said Old Man, there's a new law in town
      Lawsuits can make you feel happy

      Old Man, here's what you must do
      I said Old Man, do what your lawyer says to
      You can sue them, and I'm sure that you'll find
      They won't violate your copyright!

      It's fun to sue with the D-M-C-A!
      It's fun to sue with the D-M-C-A!

      It has everything you need to sue
      You can even screw YouTube!

      It's fun to sue with the D-M-C-A!
      It's fun to sue with the D-M-C-A!

      You can take down the vids,
      You can enforce your rights
      It's all within your sights!

      --
      Eye kneed eh Grammer chicken.
    3. Re:Another Misleading Article Title by Arker · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Actually this is a problem with the DMCA qua DMCA. Anyone can *claim* to own a copyright on any crazy thing, and send a DMCA notice, and effectively reverse the burden of proof for the price of 30 seconds typing.

      --
      =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
      Friends don't let friends enable ecmascript.
  3. D in DMCA by dotslashdot · · Score: 5, Funny

    Maybe this guy thought the DMCA was the Dance Millenium Copyright Act and wanted send the dance dance people to sing sing.

  4. YouTube Revenue Share Will Really Make This Bad! by robotsrule · · Score: 5, Insightful

    When YouTube/Google turn on their revenue sharing plan for video makers, this is going to get ugly. One of the tenets for "fair use" is whether or not the use of the copyrighted material was whether the intent was of a commercial nature or not. Once revenue sharing starts, millions of legally "naive" video uploaders are suddenly going to find themselves thrown into the nasty side of the fair use litmus test. Watch how the DMCA takedowns and litigation filings skyrocket once money is involved (as it always does).

    --


    Robert Oschler - RobotsRule.com
  5. The Robot by caller9 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Should it be patented or copyrighted?

  6. Re:Thriller... by ChromeAeonium · · Score: 5, Funny

    Depending on your age, he might let you settle out of court.

  7. Re:From now on... by Workaphobia · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Not the tune, just the lyrics. That's why Futurama sang a different variant in the episode with Nibbler's Birthday.

    One of these days, I may very well be able to post on slashdot without citing Futurama. That day is not today.

    --
    Evidently, the key to understanding recursion is to begin by understanding recursion. The rest is easy.