As you know if you read this blog regularly, I don’t usually write for Bourgeon. Bourgeon is a communal publishing point; a place for artists to share their words about their work. Every now and then though, I do man up and write articles that I think are relevant to the community. Bourgeon’s readership is the art-interested public, and artists themselves. If you’re reading this and you’d like to be published in Bourgeon, please don’t hesitate to contact me; I’m always interested to hear/learn more about what folks are up to.

———

Creators today may assert copyright ownership of their creations, but this does not necessarily limit the publics legal access to or usage of their work. Fair Use copyright law is intended to protect usage of a copyrighted work for criticism, comment, new reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. In application and implication, Fair Use law has significant impact on creators, scholars, and journalists.

Fair Use law is different from some other areas of the law in that legality of an action depends on several factors. Harvard Law School Professor and copyright expert Charles Nesson wrote, “Fairness is a standard, not a rule.No simple definition of fair use can be fashioned, no bright line test exists.” The U.S. Copyright Office outlines four factors in determining whether or not usage of a copyrighted work is fair (legal):

“The purpose and character of the use.the nature of the copyrighted work.the amount and substantiality of the portion used. and, the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.”

In order to clarify some of the inherent fuzziness in the law, practice communities (such as book publishers, movie producers, and the music industry) are empowered to create Statements of Fair Use. These Statements document common allowable usages, and outline (but do not define) the ways in which a member of the public may use copyrighted material without reasonable threat of legal repercussion.

On Friday May 8th, 2009, the Dance Heritage Coalition presented the results of their multi-year project to develop a new Statement of Fair Use for Dance-related Materials. The mission of the Dance Heritage Coalition is to improve the ability of the dance community to retain and utilize materials documenting the art form. According to Project Director Libby Smigel, through developing and publicizing the new Fair Use Statement, the Dance Heritage Coalition hopes to encourage increased access to and usage of Dance-related materials. Smigel asserted that one reason archival materials remain out of sight to the public and researchers is confusion over copyright, and fear of lawsuits. The press release for the event noted, “it hasnt been clear how librarians, archivists, and curators can legally use. images and texts.” The issues addressed in the new Dance-related Materials Statement are common to other art forms. Fair Use access issues apply to images, videos, notes, copies, and recordings of any type.

In an explanation of Fair Use issues on their website, the Copyright Alliance (a trade association dedicated to tracking copyright issues) explains, “An individual does not have the right to make use of anothers copyright work. [Fair Use may apply] when someone already has a copy of a copyrighted work and makes copies, distributes, performs, alters, or displays that work and the copyright owner subsequently challenges that use of the work as being an infringement. In that case, the person could raise a defense of fair use.” Fair Use law is not intended as a defense for people who are simply too lazy to seek copyright permission.

The impact on the financial value of a copyrighted material is a central issue in settlement of Fair Use-defended law suits. Writing on his website, journalist Brad Templeton reported, “Famously, copying just 300 words from Gerald Fords 200,000 word memoir for a magazine article was ruled as not fair use, in spite of it being very newsworthy, because it was the most important 300 words – why he pardoned Nixon.” Artists would be well-served to empower their own usage and the usage of others by considering how fair use law applies to their work.

The best way to be certain of the legality of ones usage of a copyrighted material is to seek copyright permission. In the event that copyright permission is not secured, Statements of Fair Use articulated by practice communities provide guidelines for usage, and defense in case of prosecution. To receive a copy of the new Fair Use Statement in Dance-Related Materials produced by the Dance Heritage Coalition, or to learn more about the document, visit www.danceheritage.org.

A friend e-mailed me recently with this picture, and asked: is this dance?

Here was my response:

People say that qualities of architecture are dance-like. That buildings, and trees, can dance. Fires can dance. And yes, deer can dance. But the perfomative qualities which we might in a moment recognize in a building, a tree, or a fire are expected throughout any dance presentation.

Dance occurs all over. Where it occurs consistently, people buy tickets. : )

Thanks for sending that, CM.

Over on Bourgeon, there is a simmering conversation on ‘What is Dance?” You can see that here.

There are some good books addressing that question. Copland, et al…

Bit of an academic question, but wrestling the framework of art to the ground can help one appreciate what one sees. And, if you are a practitioner, coming up with more than a knee-jerk definition of what one does can help one get through the writer’s block that occasionally troubles us all.

In case you were wondering – anyone can publish on Bourgeon. I got that question recently. I’m gonna update the ‘About’ page on Bourgeon to bring more clarity there. The submission process is: you wanna write about your work, or something about dance, I’d love to help you share it with the readers.

If you’re lucky, and work hard, you sometimes hit what you aim for. I’m having to aim for being more of an administrator so that I can be more of an artist.

Somewhat unconnectedly, I heard a great interview two years ago with a country music star. The interviewer said: ‘to do what you’ve done, you must have come up against a lot of opposition.’ Dolly Parton said: ‘well, yes I did. And while I was tempted to run people over when I could, I decided early on to go around. I had to go around a lot of people!’ (laughed)

I know I’m not like Dolly Parton (even in dim light) but I like her thought there.

“The Compelling Quality of First Person Dance Narratives

Dancers have no obligation to write about and describe their work.Dancers who do not write about and describe their work are missing a huge opportunity…… Why allow critics and bloggers to be the only voices when it comes to your work? Why not provide readers/dancegoers with your point of view?…..People want to hear directly from artists. What are you creating? What’s important to you? Who are you working with? What ideas are you exploring?……Rob Bettmann of the dance blog Bourgeon is working with dancers, primarily in the Washington, DC area, to encourage them to write about their dancing. The latest posts features first person accounts from choreographers, dancers and teachers. I think that Rob’s initiative is an important one and I hope more dancers explore different approaches to communicating about their work and sharing their explorations with online readers.”