The board of the beleaguered Martha Graham company wonders if Graham’s work is really protected by copyright. They may go to court to find out. “The implications of such a ruling would be huge. Choreography was not explicitly protected by copyright law until 1978, so most works created before then would be affected. A ruling that there is no copyright protection would mean that anyone could perform such early Graham works as her 1944 masterpiece, ‘Appalachian Spring.’ ” – Washington Post