Charli XCX Apple dance lawsuit: Can you copyright a dance move? episode artwork

EPISODE · Sep 8, 2025 · 11 MIN

Charli XCX Apple dance lawsuit: Can you copyright a dance move?

from What in the World · host BBC World Service

TikTok is full of people doing the choreography to Charlie XCX’s Apple dance - as well as many other dances. But can you get in trouble for copying someone’s routine online? Well, not if you’re doing it for fun on your page, but potentially yes if you’re a company using it for profit without the artist's permission. Copyright law can be super confusing, so we sat down with Tony Iliakostas to demystify it. Tony - also known as @theipprofessor TikTok - is a professor in entertainment and Intellectual Property Law at New York Law School. Instagram: @bbcwhatintheworld Email: [email protected] WhatsApp: +44 330 12 33 22 6 Presenter: Hannah Gelbart Producers: Mora Morrison and William Lee Adams Editor: Verity Wilde

TikTok is full of people doing the choreography to Charlie XCX’s Apple dance - as well as many other dances. But can you get in trouble for copying someone’s routine online? Well, not if you’re doing it for fun on your page, but potentially yes if you’re a company using it for profit without the artist's permission. Copyright law can be super confusing, so we sat down with Tony Iliakostas to demystify it. Tony - also known as @theipprofessor TikTok - is a professor in entertainment and Intellectual Property Law at New York Law School. Instagram: @bbcwhatintheworld Email: [email protected] WhatsApp: +44 330 12 33 22 6 Presenter: Hannah Gelbart Producers: Mora Morrison and William Lee Adams Editor: Verity Wilde

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Charli XCX Apple dance lawsuit: Can you copyright a dance move?

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This episode was published on September 8, 2025.

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TikTok is full of people doing the choreography to Charlie XCX’s Apple dance - as well as many other dances. But can you get in trouble for copying someone’s routine online? Well, not if you’re doing it for fun on your page, but potentially yes if...

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