The Dance of Intellectual Property

"The body says what words cannot." - Martha Graham Dancers express ideas, stories, feelings, thoughts, etc., by movements, static or dynamic. They express and interact through their body, often accompanied by music, in artistic costumes, settings and lighting. A dance performance integrates several elements of creativity, many of which are protectable as intellectual property in the form of copyrights, industrial designs, and patents. Representations used by dancers can be protected as trademarks, and their identity under the publicity rights regime. Protecting IP provides dancers, choreographers, dance musicians, artists and lighting experts, the opportunity to license, merchandise and commercialise their work. In today's business...