“While works of dance clearly are eligible for copyright protection under Section 102(a)(4) of the Copyright Act, determining which dances meet the standard — and which have two left feet — has been tricky and has resulted in a number of high-profile disputes in recent years. However, a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling in an unrelated copyright dispute may provide important guidance in subsequent dance-related copyright litigation.” – IPWatchdog
Christmas Panto In The Pandemic
It seems you can’t keep England’s antic, anarchic holiday tradition down, even as disease stalks the land. Chris Wiegand talks to producers who are putting their pantos on film and in car parks. – The Guardian
France’s Anti-Colonialist Art Thief-Activist Acquitted On Free-Speech Grounds
Mwazulu Diyabanza and three accomplices were found not guilty of attempted theft by a judge at Marseille’s High Court over a July 30 incident in which the four men took a ceremonial ivory spear from its perch in the city’s Museum of African, Oceanic, and Amerindian Arts, carried the object to the museum’s courtyard, denounced the “plunder” of African art by European colonials during the 19th and 20th centuries, and awaited the arrival of the police. – Artnet
Calling In Cancel Culture
“I think you can understand how calling out is toxic. It really does alienate people, and makes them fearful of speaking up.” – The New York Times
The Canadian Broadcasting Act May Be Changing To Benefit Indigenous Producers
The proposed changes to the act would require funding to Indigenous content producers – and require content be produced in Indigenous languages as well. Some producers are a bit wary: “Winnipeg-based Cree director, writer and producer J.J. Neepin said this bill would be a major recognition of Indigenous Peoples and languages but added that she feels it will be a slow process to get going.” – CBC
How The Houston Symphony Returned To The Stage For Live Performances
To be honest, part of the reason this could even be tried was that the governor of Texas didn’t institute a wide lockdown. That said, the symphony, which resumed weekly live concerts in July, consulted researchers from Rice to figure out where “microparticles” from musicians go within the symphony hall, and to institute better ventilation and filtration systems. (But the concerts have a livestreaming option for audience members who are not persuaded.) – Houston Chronicle
Some Of The Many Books That Helped Us Cope In 2020
Mysteries, children’s books, nonfiction, romance, books about race and racism, and so much more – along with an awful lot of screentime and chill, it’s how we coped with this, OK, yes, unprecendented year. – Washington Post
In Their Country’s Second Lockdown, London’s Royal Ballet Dancers Are Still Performing
The director of the Royal Ballet, discussing the live-streamed performances: “It’s so important for them to do what they’re trained to do, to be in the studios together, to be rehearsing, and to be performing. It’s their job; it’s their life.” – CNN
Banks Have Continued To Collect Art As Museums Retreat
As pandemic-related shutdowns have entered their ninth month, and as public collections around the world dramatically scale back programming—if not the collections themselves—banks and other large corporations have continued to collect, lend, and exhibit art. By comparison, 1 in 3 American museums never reopened after shutting down in March, according to a survey released on Tuesday by the American Alliance of Museums. – Bloomberg
“Wonder Woman” Plan Threatens Movie Theatres
“By now, you’ve read a million paeans to the magic of sitting in a darkened theater, but it’s not just the evanescent experience of the silver screen that’s been whisked away. On a purely practical level, theaters act as a filter, a way of separating out a small handful of the hundreds of movies released every year, and although the system by which they end up there is riven with biases and blind spots, on balance, the movies that end up there are better than the ones that don’t, and their limited runs create a sense of occasion and urgency that the boundless availability of streaming can’t match.” – Slate
Why Science Isn’t Just About Data
“Before I drag you any further down what might strike you as a rocky, obscure and unpromising path, let me furnish an illustration of scientific censorship in action: the case of beauty.” – Aeon
The Rock Critic Who Decided To Rewrite Classical Music History
Paul Morley “still writes about rock today, when asked, but his focus has shifted. His current mission is to inspire rock fans to explore and love classical music. An admirable aim, as far as it goes.” – The New York Times
California Designates Those Who Work In Entertainment As Essential Workers
On that list of exemptions, under “Industrial, Commercial, Residential, and Sheltering Facilities and Services,” there is essential worker designation 15 which reads, “Workers supporting the entertainment industries, studios, and other related establishments, provided they follow covid-19 public health guidance around physical distancing.” – Deadline
Hallmark Has Been Broadcasting Christmas Shows Since Before Halloween — And It’s Ruling Cable TV With Them
“What’s most striking about Hallmark’s continued yuletide success is that the network hasn’t suffered the same ratings erosion as most of its cable peers. … It’s harder than ever to get holiday TV commercials in front of holiday viewers, but Hallmark is still doing so with relative ease.” – Vulture
Artist-Mathematician Anthony Hill Dead At 90
“An artist under two names, and a mathematician and writer under more than one alias, he was a member of the constructionist group of geometrical abstract artists that emerged in Britain in the mid-1950s, and was its leading theoretician.” – The Guardian
Actors Equity And SAG-AFTRA Settle Bitter Turf War Over Streamed Theater
“Under the agreement, which is tentatively scheduled to last until Dec. 31, 2021, the two unions agreed that Equity will cover work recorded for digital distribution that replaces, or supplements, a live audience.” But, by god, it had better be as close as possible to a live, in-person performance: SAG-AFTRA has put some very specific restrictions on what qualifies. – The New York Times
BuzzFeed Is Taking Over HuffPost
Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Verizon Media had been reportedly trying to offload HuffPost for more than a year and has been in negotiations with BuzzFeed for several months about a sale.” The two sites will continue to operate separately, each with its own newsroom. – Variety
Wall Street Ponders Implications Of “Wonder Woman” Release
“This is an unprecedented move for a major Hollywood media company, especially for a $200 million film, and a grand experiment that could have long-lasting implications if successful,” Credit Suisse analyst Douglas Mitchelson wrote in a report. – The Hollywood Reporter
The End Of Post-War Liberal Globalism?
“This narrative of a US-led global journey to the promised land was always implausible. Four years of Trump have finally clarified that between 2001 and 2020—and through such events as the terrorist attacks of September 11, intensified globalization, the rise of China concurrent with the failed war on terror, and the financial crisis—the world was moving into an entirely new historical period. Moreover, in this phase, many ideas and assumptions dominant for decades were rapidly becoming obsolete.” – New York Review of Books