Michel Fokine registered his ballets for copyright in Paris. The change of US law in 1978, and the Copyright Extension Act, mean that Fokine works are still under copyright. The expiration date in the US is 31 December 2047. It is therefore necessary to secure rights from the FEA prior to planning any public performance.

Please note, and for the avoidance of doubt: Any “versions” of Fokine’s works are still subject to the copyright, due to the fact that a version (of a copyrighted work) is by its nature, a derivative of the copyright. Therefore the legal status of a “version” is the same as the original work, and carries the same restrictions.

The Michel Fokine Archive consists of his own material. It is the largest collection of material on Fokine in the world containing: his memoirs, diaries, paintings, sculpture, set and costume designs, sketches, costumes, audio recordings, artifacts, posters, photographs, scores, orchestrations, dance-notations, rare books, manuscripts, press clippings, programmes, contracts, correspondence, personal mementoes, and archival film footage.

Exhibitions at Lincoln Center, the International Ballet Competition, and the Royal Opera House –Covent Garden, have given the wider public the opportunity to see many of these rare materials.

A number of items are now available to the public at the both the Lincoln Center Library for the Performing Arts(research division), and the Harvard Theatre Collection.

The unique material in the Archive, is used by the Estate, in its' reconstructions of the repertoire.