Cornflake wrote:
Nevertheless, it's incorrect to say that a work not registered as copyrighted is therefore public domain.
Does that mean the original teen who created the dance can still sue for a portion of the Charilie's profits? In addition to cultural appropriation then there's also the issue of plagiarism. She has been careful to never acknowledge the girl who created this dance. Hence why Ellen and Oprah gave the creator some airplay as it seems at best mean spirited.
Charlie's parents are also careful in interviews to avoid getting into a legal stoush over their daughter stealing.
An interesting callback here is the DAmellio's are Italian. There has been a claim by the American Italian community for some years that they invented Jazz

. As black music rose in popularity both the italian and spanish communities started trying to profit from this popularity. Italian young men in Jersey like Franky Valli and the 4 seasons copied the black boy bands, Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin's crooning was directly lifted from black singers. Cuban mambo and italian mambo and music of Spanish Harlem elevated the careers of a lot young famous Italian and cuban performers such as Lucille Ball's husband Desi Arnaz.