If you dance, you may be sued now... - Page 2

**007** · 02-20-2007, 02:28 PM

This is laughable...

'Electric Slide' on slippery DMCA slope
By Daniel Terdiman, Staff Writer, CNET News.com
1 | 2 | Next >

The inventor of the "Electric Slide," an iconic dance created in 1976, is fighting back against what he believes are copyright violations and, more importantly, examples of bad dancing.

Kyle Machulis, an engineer at San Francisco's Linden Lab, said he received a Digital Millennium Copyright Act takedown notice about a video he had shot at a recent convention showing three people doing the Electric Slide.

"The creator of the Electric Slide claims to hold a copyright on the dance and is DMCAing every single video on YouTube" that references the dance, Machulis said. He's also sent licensing demands to The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Machulis added.

Indeed, Richard Silver, who filed the copyright for the Electric Slide in 2004, said on one of his Web pages that the DeGeneres Show had been putting up a legal fight as he tried to get compensation for a segment that aired in February 2006 in which actress Teri Hatcher and other dancers performed the popular wedding shuffle.

____________________________________________________

Sound Off: Can you be sued for doing the 'Electric Slide' wrong?

____________________________________________________

The 1998 Digital Millenium Copyright Act governs copyright infringement as well as technology whose purpose is to circumvent measures intended to protect copyrights. Under the DMCA, rights-holders can complain to services like YouTube that content uploaded by users infringes their copyrights.

Silver did not respond to an e-mail sent Friday asking for comment and did not answer several phone calls to his Groton, Conn., home. A representative for the DeGeneres Show declined to comment.

But on the YouTube page Silver himself posted showing the Electric Slide, he wrote, "Any video that shows my choreography being done incorrectly is being removed. I don't want future generations having to learn it wrong and then relearn it as I am being faced with now because of certain sites and (people) that have been teaching it incorrectly and without my permission. That's the reason I (copyrighted) it in the first place."

YouTube has been dealing with a slew of DMCA takedown claims recently. Viacom on Friday demanded the service remove a hundred thousand videos it claimed infringed its copyrights.

Some may find it odd that a dance could be copyrightable, of course. But according to Jason Schultz, a staff attorney with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, dance moves can definitely be protected under copyright law.

"You can copyright the choreography for dances," said Schultz, "and then enforce the copyright against anyone who publicly performs the dance."

Does that mean that everyone who giggles their way through the Electric Slide with the wedding videographer shooting away is violating copyright? No, but the videographer could be at risk. But Schultz said he believes Silver's claims against Machulis and others who have posted videos on YouTube may be questionable.

"Someone who performs it noncommercially or adds their own artistic flair to the dance has a pretty good fair-use argument that their performance is noninfringing," Schultz said.

Because there are only about 20 seconds of actual footage of people doing the Electric Slide out of Machulis' nearly five-minute video, Silver's claim may be on shaky ground, Schultz said.

"Here, it's such a small piece of the video, and such a small piece of the dance (that) I think if (Silver brought) a copyright lawsuit, he would lose," he said.

stevieray · 02-20-2007, 03:14 PM

last dance with mary jane

**Bob Dole** · 02-20-2007, 03:15 PM

Here's an NPR interview with Richard Pillowbiter about the story.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/s...toryId=7492263

kepp · 02-20-2007, 03:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kepp

S

I feel like I just tried to start the wave and everyone just sat there staring at me

Sully · 02-20-2007, 03:31 PM

A

...a, a, a, a.

**Baby Lee** · 02-20-2007, 03:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by greg63

The little old lady who burnt her mouth on McDonnalds coffee thinks they have a case.

Who?
Oh yeah, that old lady who sipped some coffee, burnt her tongue a little and got 80 bajillion dollars. That was ridiculous.

Redrum_69 · 02-20-2007, 03:41 PM

ANyone else think that Traci Bingham is fuggin beautiful on Surreal Life?

Sully · 02-20-2007, 03:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Redrum_69

ANyone else think that Traci Bingham is fuggin beautiful on Surreal Life?

I think she's gotten fairly manly looking.

Ultra Peanut · 02-20-2007, 03:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Baby Lee

Who?
Oh yeah, that old lady who sipped some coffee, burnt her tongue a little and got 80 bajillion dollars. That was ridiculous.

greg63 · 02-20-2007, 04:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Baby Lee

Who?
Oh yeah, that old lady who sipped some coffee, burnt her tongue a little and got 80 bajillion dollars. That was ridiculous.

That's the one; her lawyers are thinking of working this case free of charge.

DenverChief · 02-20-2007, 09:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JBucc

I sense thousands of shitty electric slide videos being uploaded as we type.

DenverChief · 02-20-2007, 09:52 PM

**Rain Man** · 02-20-2007, 09:57 PM

Just so people know, I am officially claiming a copyright on the lewd hip thrust.

Frazod · 02-20-2007, 10:00 PM

How about everybody who's ever been to a wedding and been victimized by this goddamn dance/song suing Machulis? That bastard.

And why stop there? All of us who were victims of the 70s should start a class action suit against the creators of disco, leisure suits and bellbottoms.

Deberg_1990 · 02-20-2007, 10:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rooster

I think I will rent 'Footloose' tonight.

**morphius** · 02-20-2007, 10:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by frazod

How about everybody who's ever been to a wedding and been victimized by this goddamn dance/song suing Machulis? That bastard.

And why stop there? All of us who were victims of the 70s should start a class action suit against the creators of disco, leisure suits and bellbottoms.

Damn it now I have this horrible image of my head of Fraz in a bell bottomed leisure suite.

02-20-2007, 02:28 PM
007 Shaken. Not stirred. Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: London Casino cash: $14050126 VARSITY	If you dance, you may be sued now... This is laughable... 'Electric Slide' on slippery DMCA slope By Daniel Terdiman, Staff Writer, CNET News.com 1 \| 2 \| Next > The inventor of the "Electric Slide," an iconic dance created in 1976, is fighting back against what he believes are copyright violations and, more importantly, examples of bad dancing. Kyle Machulis, an engineer at San Francisco's Linden Lab, said he received a Digital Millennium Copyright Act takedown notice about a video he had shot at a recent convention showing three people doing the Electric Slide. "The creator of the Electric Slide claims to hold a copyright on the dance and is DMCAing every single video on YouTube" that references the dance, Machulis said. He's also sent licensing demands to The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Machulis added. Indeed, Richard Silver, who filed the copyright for the Electric Slide in 2004, said on one of his Web pages that the DeGeneres Show had been putting up a legal fight as he tried to get compensation for a segment that aired in February 2006 in which actress Teri Hatcher and other dancers performed the popular wedding shuffle. ____________________________________________________ Sound Off: Can you be sued for doing the 'Electric Slide' wrong? ____________________________________________________ The 1998 Digital Millenium Copyright Act governs copyright infringement as well as technology whose purpose is to circumvent measures intended to protect copyrights. Under the DMCA, rights-holders can complain to services like YouTube that content uploaded by users infringes their copyrights. Silver did not respond to an e-mail sent Friday asking for comment and did not answer several phone calls to his Groton, Conn., home. A representative for the DeGeneres Show declined to comment. But on the YouTube page Silver himself posted showing the Electric Slide, he wrote, "Any video that shows my choreography being done incorrectly is being removed. I don't want future generations having to learn it wrong and then relearn it as I am being faced with now because of certain sites and (people) that have been teaching it incorrectly and without my permission. That's the reason I (copyrighted) it in the first place." YouTube has been dealing with a slew of DMCA takedown claims recently. Viacom on Friday demanded the service remove a hundred thousand videos it claimed infringed its copyrights. Some may find it odd that a dance could be copyrightable, of course. But according to Jason Schultz, a staff attorney with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, dance moves can definitely be protected under copyright law. "You can copyright the choreography for dances," said Schultz, "and then enforce the copyright against anyone who publicly performs the dance." Does that mean that everyone who giggles their way through the Electric Slide with the wedding videographer shooting away is violating copyright? No, but the videographer could be at risk. But Schultz said he believes Silver's claims against Machulis and others who have posted videos on YouTube may be questionable. "Someone who performs it noncommercially or adds their own artistic flair to the dance has a pretty good fair-use argument that their performance is noninfringing," Schultz said. Because there are only about 20 seconds of actual footage of people doing the Electric Slide out of Machulis' nearly five-minute video, Silver's claim may be on shaky ground, Schultz said. "Here, it's such a small piece of the video, and such a small piece of the dance (that) I think if (Silver brought) a copyright lawsuit, he would lose," he said.
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02-20-2007, 03:14 PM	#16
stevieray best in the biz Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Under Pressure Casino cash: $2485273	last dance with mary jane
Posts: 71,249

02-20-2007, 03:15 PM	#17
Bob Dole King Shit of **** Mountain Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Texarkana, Texas Casino cash: $2484497	Here's an NPR interview with Richard Pillowbiter about the story. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/s...toryId=7492263
Posts: 48,583

02-20-2007, 03:31 PM	#19
Sully It Goes On Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Lees Summit Casino cash: $10026331	A ...a, a, a, a. __________________ "And I don't wish that girl any bad luck," he said, "but I hope she gets hit with a car." - Tommy Lasorda
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02-20-2007, 03:41 PM	#21
Redrum_69 Banned Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: your nightmares Casino cash: $10004900	ANyone else think that Traci Bingham is fuggin beautiful on Surreal Life?
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02-20-2007, 09:52 PM	#26
DenverChief MVP Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: Rocky Ford Casino cash: $5849867
Posts: 16,166

02-20-2007, 09:57 PM	#27
Rain Man NFL's #1 Ermines Fan Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: My house Casino cash: $3218491 VARSITY	Just so people know, I am officially claiming a copyright on the lewd hip thrust. __________________ I'm putting random letters here as a celebration of free speech: xigrakgrah misorojeq rkemeseit.
Posts: 141,539

02-20-2007, 10:00 PM	#28
Frazod WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS Join Date: Aug 2000 Casino cash: $3025085	How about everybody who's ever been to a wedding and been victimized by this goddamn dance/song suing Machulis? That bastard. And why stop there? All of us who were victims of the 70s should start a class action suit against the creators of disco, leisure suits and bellbottoms.
Posts: 119,512