9 Ladies Dancing

Of course for the sake of equality we wish to state that any reference to dancing in this post also applies to gentlemen and not just ladies …..

Picture by Backtothefuture

As there are nine ladies dancing we thought we would have a mixed bag of nine short ‘legal’ aspects of dancing  – who knew there were that many connections!  All links to legislation below are to Legislation.gov but remember that this may not be as up to date as subscription sources.  If you are an OU member the best resources for UK legislation are Westlaw and Lexis Library (both available through Oxlip+).  The UK cases listed are all linked to Bailii.org which is a free source of UK case law.

1. Nine ladies dancing in accordance with copyright law

Dances are protected under s.1  of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988  as dramatic works (dance is listed under s.3) but only if they are recorded.   In practice it is fairly difficult to establish copyright  for choreography.  One of the more famous cases is Norowzian v Arks Ltd (No.2) [2000] E.C.D.R. 205 (CA) or better known as the Guinness ad case.  The case centred more on similar editing techniques and it was found not to have breached copyright  however the appeal was important for establishing that a film was definitely capable of being seen as a dramatic work.  Now that we have given you earworm we will move on.

2. Nine ladies dancing in a public space

Do you want to spontaneously dance in the street – no problem.  Do you want to invite a troupe of dancers to perform in your shop, arrange a dancing talent show or even show Dirty Dancing in the park?  Then you need to make sure that it does not fall under the Schedule 1 of the Licensing Act 2003 as regulated entertainment, if it does then you need to apply for a licence.  However if by any chance the dance troupe are Morris Dancers then you are in luck (see Schedule 1, Pt 2 Exemptions (s.11)!

by Jessicastjohn

3. Nine ladies definitely not dancing in the Jefferson Memorial

In the case of Oberwetter v Hilliard 639 F.3d 545 the question was whether the prohibition of dancing in the Jefferson Memorial was a breach of First Amendment Rights.  Oberwetter had taken part in a celebration of Jefferson’s birthday by dancing (with headphones) alongside others.   We have already mentioned some US legal resources in our 2 Turtle Doves post however if you are ever needing a copy of the US Constitution then it is available in many different databases (Westlaw, Lexis, HeinOnline) and indeed widely available on the web.  Some other countries constitutions are not that easy to find but if you are an OU member  then there is Constitutions of the Countries of the  World database (available through Oxlip+) or come in to browse the 20 volume looseleaf at Gen 510 C759.

4. Nine Ladies protecting their culture

Of course dance is one of the great unifying mediums of the human race but some dances have cultural significance.  Over the centuries the growth of cultural rights has been seen as  positive step to make sure civilisations own their own history and it is not open to exploitation.  This has included exploring the possibility of gaining intellectual property rights  over images and indeed dances.  For example, although the Haka has not been allowed to be registered as a trade mark the crown has given copyright rights to Ngati Toa.  There are a number of books available in the Law Bod on Cultural and Social Rights.

5. Nine Ladies Latin Dancing

We only have to look at Strictly Come Dancing to know that one of the most popular styles of dance is Latin.  Of course when we think of Latin we should think of all those fantastic legal maxims.  If like us you sometimes get your Volenti non fit injuria mixed up with your ex turpi causa non oritur actio then it may be worth looking at Stroud’s Judicial Dictionary, Word and Phrases Legally Defined, Trayner’s Legal Maxims and Jowitt’s Dictionary of English Law.  There is even a Wikipedia page for legal Latin terms (whether it is accurate or not we will leave up to you).

6. Nine ladies Dancing Salsa

Of course what is more realistic if we are thinking of Latin is to think of the more tropical climes of South America/Spain.  If you are having to research legal resources in these jurisdictions and you are an OU member you have access to VLex (see Legal Databases page for details).  Vlex has legal information for over 90 countries but the strongest of these is Spain. Of course we also have a Spanish Law Libguide.

7. Nine Ladies Dancing Round a Ring

In the last Olympics ladies were allowed to compete in the boxing ring for the first time.  Of course boxing is seen as a dangerous sport and there has long been a debate as to whether injuries occurring from these sports can lead to an action in negligence (Gravil v Carroll [2008] EWCA Civ 689, Vowles v Evans [2003] EWCA Civ 318,  & Watson v British Boxing Board of Control Ltd [2001] Q.B. 1134 for examples).  Of course cases of this nature have often  discussed  volenti (Ed: we think we should get a prize for getting it in twice in one blog) to look at whether the participant willingly placed themselves in harm’s way.  There is more on this subject in Gardner’s, Sports Law (Safety and Participants in Law),  Charlesworth and Percy on Negligence (para 4-102) (als0 on Westlaw under Books) and many more.    See also Five Gold Rings.

8. Nine Ladies Dancing on Common Land

Common land was at the heart of the case of Dance v Savery [2011] EWCA Civ 1250, grazing rights in particular.  The Common Registration Act 1965 looked to register interests in common land within towns and villages (followed by the Commons Act 2006).  For a more comprehensive overview there is Gadsden on Commons and Greens.

9.  Nine ladies Dancing in the Dark

Nine ladies may indeed, like the well-known Bruce Springsteen track suggests, be dancing in the dark if their right to light has not been observed .  The right to light is an easement which gives the owners of buildings with windows (and yes there are buildings without) the right to a continual level of natural light.  In effect this stops neighbours erecting anything that stops light getting in.  If you want to brush up on your conveyancing law or just want to know whether you can build that 20 foot Bruce Springsteen statue by your neighbour’s fence then see Bickford-Smith, Rights of Lights: the Modern Law.