Artists have always been inspired by other artists to create new works. Throughout history we have seen many artists collaborations, covers and homages in films, TV, and music. There is currently a litany of cases in the US and UK courts regarding music copyright and whether a more popular artist has stolen the melody or lyrics of a less popular artist, therefore exploiting the work without credit or compensation. What is less litigious is the copyright of choreography – particularly in music videos. This is a very interesting area of copyright and copyright infringement. Can you copyright a dance move? When does it stop being a homage or inspiration? When does it become a rip off? Should more successful artists compensate or credit the ideas they use of less successful artists? How do you create a record of your choreography? What about the infringement of Moral Rights under copyright law? 
 
In this presentation I’m going to examine these questions in relation to the claims of some key avant-garde artists’ who have accused Beyonce of stealing their choreography and the visual designs of their music and dance videos. I will play video clips showing these works side by side to show the similarities. Beyonce responded to many of the allegations citing she was “inspired by” the artist’s work but allegedly provided no compensation or credit to the original artists. Is this a copyright infringement? Does this type of use elevate the avant-garde artist’s work through the legal attention? Or does it overshadow their work and further elevate the work of Beyonce? Does Beyonce’s rendition of other artists work violate their moral rights? I’ll examine the cases in a fun way and, I’d like to draw attention to the work of the artists that created some of the iconic choreography Beyonce is more known for.