Martha Graham, one of the founders of modern dance, created the nonprofit Martha Graham Center of Contemporary Dance to support her work and the work of other artists.
She was its artistic director and created much of her choreography while employed by the center; after 1966, her primary duty was to create new dances. At her death in 1991, Graham left her estate, including rights and interests in her work, to a friend, Ronald Portas, who opened a rival dance group, the Martha Graham School and Dance Foundation. Portas claimed the copyrights to all Graham’s choreography. The Graham Center, however, claimed ownership under the “work for hire” doctrine. In arguments before the court, Portas claimed that the Center’s lack of direct control over Graham’s creative endeavors exempts Graham’s choreography from the “work for hire” doctrine. Should the court accept this exemption? What result? [Martha Graham School & Dance Foundation v. Martha Graham Center of Contemporary Dance, 380 F.3d 624 (2d Cir. 2004).]