The owner of a Copyrighted work has the exclusive rights to do and to authorize, any of the following:

reproduce the copyrighted work;
prepare derivative works based upon the copyrighted work;
distribute copies of the copyrighted work to the public;
perform the copyrighted work in public;
display the copyrighted work in public; and
perform a copyrighted sound work in public by means of a digital audio transmission.
 

Under the law, 17 U.S.C. § 501, anyone who violates any of these exclusive rights is an infringer and may be subject to a lawsuit and remedies in the form of injunctions, monetary damages, and impoundment and destruction of the infringing material made or used to violate the copyright owner's rights. In addition, the infringer may be liable for attorney's fee's and costs.

Further, certain acts of infringement may subject the infringer to criminal penalties.

Public Domain

Copyright protections expire if it has been 75 years since the author has filed with the Copyright Office OR if the copyright is 100 years old. The piece would then fall into the public domain. If the copyright protection has expired and the author is presumed dead by the copyright office, then anything copyrighted in 1921 or before 1996 is public domain.

Anything published before 1978: The copyright will expire 75 years from the date of publication IF the copyright was renewed.

Anything created, but not published before 1978: The copyright will expire on December 31, 2002.

From 1978 to the present - Copyrights owned by individuals: Copyrights last for the life of the author PLUS an additional 50 years after the author's death.

From 1978 to the present - Copyrights owned by employers of authors: Copyright will last 75 years from the date of publication OR 100 years from the date of creation, whichever occurs first.

Public Domain songs may be used for profit-making without paying any royalties.  If you create a new version or derivative of a public domain song, you can copyright your version and no one can use it without your permission.  However, the song remains in the public domain, and anyone else can also make and copyright their own version of the same PD song.

Songs change over time.  Even though a public domain version exists, some versions may still be under copyright protection.  The only way to confidently identify a PD version is to find a copy of the song with a copyright date old enough for public domain status.  You can then use that Public Domain version or work from it to create your own derivative work.  If you work from a version still under copyright protection, the copyright owner can likely make a valid claim for royalties.

Music recordings are protected separately from musical compositions.  Virtually every sound recording in the USA is under copyright protection until 2067.  If you need a sound recording, you will either have to record it yourself or license one.  

Only rarely can compositions  be confidently identified without the advice of an attorney or rights clearance agency. If you wish to use a song outside of the United States, you must check the copyright laws for each individual country where you use the song.

Nearly ALL the old original classics by composers such as Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, etc., are in the public domain. The present day artists who record the classics with their own musical talents own the copyrights to their arrangements. Unless you obtain a license and/or permission to use them, you cannot use them.

Most known original traditional or classical music pieces may be okay to use, but if it's a popular song written within the last fifty years, you can bet it is still under copyright. One way you might be able to tell for sure is if you can find an old piece of sheet music for it. If it's 75 years old, it may be in the public domain. Experts have difficulty in being sure, so don't assume anything!

Violations of copyrights related to files which you might provide for listening or for downloading may carry a legal fine for EACH SINGLE VIOLATION of up to $50,000 PLUS damages to the copyright owners. Unless you have obtained a distribution/recording/broadcasting/performance license which allows you to offer music files of copyright protected music, you should remove all questionable files immediately.

It is the Artists responsibility to be 100% certain that they are within their legal rights when using any materials on this service

Using copyrighted material in unlicensed uses, can be an expensive lesson if you don't follow the copyright laws to the letter. The fines are heavy . . . depending on the degree to which you're found guilty of infringements on copyrights. The cost can be astronomical.

Pattern/Moves Copyright

There is an comprehensive document on the matter at

http://www.csulb.edu/%7Ejvancamp/copyrigh.html

Although this is primarily discussing US Federal Copyright Law of 1976 it can give us some guidelines in the area.

“The Horgan court cites approvingly publications from the Copyright Office that "social dance steps, folk dance steps, and individual ballet steps" are for choreographers as words are for writers, and, in and of themselves, cannot be copyrighted. “……..also……. “many combinations clearly belong to the public (e.g., a series of turns a la seconde followed by multiple pirouettes, common in so many male solo variations in ballet),”

However it would seem obvious that a complete performance could have copyright protection.

The Clave Video Copyright

Videos which distributed through The Clave are owned by or the original artist. As such they are released under license and only used with the agreement of the original artist. The music copyright section above is equally valid for video.

It is the Artists responsibility to be 100% certain that they are within their legal rights when releasing any materials on this service