Recent court battles over the late Martha Graham’s dance legacy have made dancers more aware of copyright issues. “Most choreographers seem aware that putting a copyright line on a filmed or videotaped performance constitutes a technical copyright. What they may not realize is that a work is under copyright at the instant it’s created, but that unless they file a ‘writing’ with the Library of Congress, creators have no right to collect damages on alleged infringements. No lawsuit for, say, plagiarism, can be instituted. (Since the ’70s, a ‘writing’ has included notation and/or any filmed record of a dance.)” Village Voice 08/14/01