What in the World
What in the World
Charli XCX Apple dance lawsuit: Can you copyright a dance move?
Up next
8 September 2025
12 minutes
Available for over a year
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
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Presenter: Hannah Gelbart
Producers: Mora Morrison and William Lee Adams
Editor: Verity Wilde
