It Is Unusual: Courts Must Decide What Choreography Can Be Copyrighted

In the early 1990s, while actor Alfonso Ribeiro was in the midst of portraying Carlton Banks on the highly successful sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, he received a script that included some ambiguous directions: “Carlton Dances.” Despite rarely providing any improvisation throughout the series’ six season run, Ribeiro created what he called “the corniest dance on the planet.” Mixing elements of Courtney Cox in Bruce Springsteen’s Dancing In The Dark Video with Eddie Murphy in Delirious to create what is now known as “The Carlton,” a dance move that has outlived the popularity of the series that birthed it. This post was originally published on the Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal website on February 10, 2019. The original post can be accessed via the Archived Link button above