D
o you need to copyright your work? There is absolutely nothing wrong with protecting your work. As an artist you may want to investigate intellectual property. However, we do see a complex set of problems accompanying this. You should however, videotape all your teams for the archives. Should someone use your routine, step by step, music by note, you will have a documented accord of your work.
One concern is that your long, complex sequence of fancy footwork that you 'created' may have actually come about by the team member, assistant coaches or trainers.
The essence of competition in sports is a process of innovation based upon: imitation, mastery, and then, for the talented few, innovation.
The whole point of competitive sports is to prove that you can do it better.
This is most obvious with 'stunts' in cheering, where one competitor introduces a new stunt or pyramid combo, then everyone else becomes measured by their ability to do the new sequence.
Of course, you could say that only whole routines, and not constituent parts would be copyrighted, but copyright law is notorious for giving an increasing level of protection once a new type of work is given coverage.
Once again, the whole point of competition is that the second-comer has the right to say: You did it first, but I do it better. From this incremental competitive process, the whole sport benefits, people continue to be dazzled by the ever-increasing complexity of routines, and cheering gains respect and credibility.
Cheerleaders learn from one another by watching the best, in an effort to refine their own skills. Our veterans are always teaching newbees. Keep in mind also that the copyright act is supposed to give special protection to creative endeavors which would not otherwise occur because of inability to recoup investment. In cases where creativity occurs, and is rewarded in various ways (both monetary and otherwise), the copyright law as is, doesn’t completely apply to cheerleading. We don’t want you to be curtailed in your freedom and creativity.
