In a somewhat unusual development in copyright law, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit recently overturned a dismissal of a copyright infringement lawsuit. This case is noteworthy because it deals with the infringement of a copyright on choreography, an area not often broached by the courts.
The lawsuit, Hanagami v. Epic Games, Inc., Case No. 22-55890, stems from the alleged copying of choreography by Epic Games, the Northern California-based video game developer and publisher. A decision released by the Ninth Circuit on November 1, 2023 reversed the District Court’s dismissal of the lawsuit, stating that it had erred in its application of the ‘substantial similarity standard’. This standard draws the line between animation and choreography from a copyright perspective, and its interpretation had been contested in this case.
The court’s ruling is significant because it brings up questions of copyright applicability in choreography, an area of intellectual property not often subjected to legal scrutiny. The case has been remanded for further proceedings, meaning the understanding of this area of copyright law may yet be refined.
For more detailed analysis, you can examine the ruling in full here.
The case, initiated by Kyle Hanagami, an industry-leading choreographer whose work has been used in high-profile performances such as those by Jennifer Lopez and Blackpink, added to the tension between the entertainment and gaming industries. This lawsuit has the potential to redefine the boundaries of creative rights and protections in the rapidly converging worlds of technology, entertainment, and intellectual property.
While it’s too soon to determine the ripple effects of this case, it nonetheless presents an important discourse and poses far-reaching implications for choreographers, dancers, game developers, and other creatives who regularly straddle the line between tangible and digital performance.
It commands us to examine the distinctions and links between choreography and animation more closely – not just as forms of creative expression, but as subject to legal norms and protections under copyright law.