806.2(E)
806.3 806.3(A)
806.3(B)
806.3(C)
806.3(D) 806.4
Presentation Before an Audience
By definition, a pantomime is a work that is intended to be performed before an audience.
Fixation of Pantomimes
The Work Must Be Fixed in a Tangible Medium of Expression
The U.S. Copyright Office may register a claim to copyright in a pantomime, provided that the specific movements, gestures, and facial expressions constituting the work have been fixed in a tangible medium of expression. 17 U.S.C. § 102(a). As a general rule, the work should be fixed in a visually perceptible form, because pantomime involves the physical movements of a performer's body which are visually perceived.
Capacity for Uniform Performance
A pantomime should be fixed in a form that depicts or describes the movements, gestures, and facial expressions in sufficient detail to permit the work to be performed. In addition, the specific movements and physical actions that constitute the pantomime should be fixed in a form that allows the work to be performed in a consistent and uniform manner. Any copy or phonorecord that satisfies this requirement will suffice, such as a written description of the work or an actual performance of the work captured in a motion picture. See Kalem, 222 U.S. at 61 ("The essence of the matter ... is not the mechanism employed, but that we see the event or story lived."].
Improvisation
The U.S. Copyright Office may register a pantomime, even if the author left some room for improvisation or if some improvisation is intended in the performance of the work. However, it is not possible to copyright an improvised pantomime if the improvisation has not been fixed in a tangible medium of expression. 17 U.S.C. § 102(a). For example, the Office will refuse to register a work that simply directs the performer to improvise a pantomime based on a particular theme or otherwise does not illustrate, depict or describe the performer's specific movements.
Forms of Fixation for Pantomimes
Unlike choreography, pantomimes are not fixed using a specific form of symbolic notation, although a dance notation system could conceivably be used for notating this type of work See Section 805.3(D)(1).
Copyrightable Authorship in Pantomimes
The U.S. Copyright Office may register a claim to copyright in a pantomime, provided that the work constitutes copyrightable subject matter under Section 102(a)(4) of the Copyright Act and provided that it contains a sufficient amount of original authorship.
Chapter 800 : 89
12/22/2014
