Creators have been increasingly taking legal action against Epic Games for what many of them are calling unfair and uncredited use of their dance moves as Fortnite dances.
Having raked in $3 billion in 2018, and with a particular law firm on the offensive against them, Fortnite was hit with a barrage of lawsuits at the end of last year. This has continued into 2019, with the latest lawsuit coming just days ago.
Fortnite uses these dance moves in emotes that players can unlock and use in game. These emotes are purchased with V-Bucks, which is a form of in-game currency that you can get by spending real money on Fortnite.
Let’s take a chronological look at every dance move Fortnite has been sued over.
Milly Rock
The lawsuit that started it all, rapper 2 Milly’s “Milly Rock” dance was the first instance of a dance-inspired Fortnite emote being cited in a legal complaint.
According to the suit from Terrence Ferguson, also known as 2 Milly, Fortnite’s “Swipe It” emote is identical to his hip-hop dance, popularized by a song of the same name, without his consent or to his credit.
The suit was filed on Dec. 5, 2018, by David L. Hecht of Pierce Bainbridge. Hecht told Variety in a December interview:
“This isn’t the first time that Epic Games has brazenly misappropriated the likeness of African-American talent. Our client Lenwood ‘Skip’ Hamilton is pursuing similar claims against Epic for use of his likeness in the popular ‘Cole Train’ character in the ‘Gears of War’ video game franchise. Epic cannot be allowed to continue to take what does not belong to it.”
Carlton Dance
Alfonso Ribeiro made waves in the news when it was reported that he would be suing both Epic Games and 2K Games for the “unfairly profited” use of his dance in their games.
Ribeiro’s suit came less than two weeks after 2 Milly’s and was filed by the same firm, Pierce Bainbridge. Ribeiro’s dance, the “Fresh” emote in Fortnite, was made popular by ’90s sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
Just a day later, TMZ reported that Ribiero confessed on video to stealing the dance from routines by both Courteney Cox and Eddie Murphy.
David Hecht, Ribiero’s attorney, denies this allegation, stating, “On numerous occasions, Mr. Ribeiro has commented on his inspiration for the dance. In the clip, Mr. Ribeiro used the word ‘stole’ in jest. He did not use the word ‘stole’ in the legal sense.”
Floss Fortnite Dance
The lawsuit over Backpack Kid’s “Floss” dance, given the same name in Fortnite, marked the beginning of non-celebrities and parents getting involved.
A 16-year-old kid named Russell Horning skyrocketed in popularity when his “Floss” dance was added as a reward from Tier 49 of Battle Pass Season 2 in Fortnite. It’s named after a dance he did during a Katy Perry performance on Saturday Night Live.
This lawsuit came to light on Dec. 18th, 2018, just a day after we heard news of the Alfonso Ribeiro lawsuit against Epic and 2K. Again, the same firm, Pierce Bainbridge, is handling Horning’s case.
Horning’s mother is allegedly behind pressuring this litigation, and Horning is on the record telling a TMZ reporter at Fortnite’s E3 Pro-Am, “It’s not that big of a deal, I’m just glad it’s in the game,” when asked about his dance being used in Fortnite.
Orange Justice AKA Fortnite Dance BoogieDown Contest Non-Winner
The most recent Fortnite dance lawsuit comes at the hands of the mother of Orange Shirt Kid. It was filed by the same firm that represents the rest of the members of this list, Pierce Bainbridge, on Jan. 14.
The case of Orange Justice is a bit different from the ones that came before it. Orange Shirt Kid’s dance was originally submitted as an entry to Epic Games’ BoogieDown Contest.
Orange Shirt Kid wasn’t one of the winners of this contest, but after overwhelming support from the community, Epic Games decided to add the emote, “Orange Justice”, at the start of Fortnite’s Season 4.
However, part of the rules of entry in this contest grants Epic Games use of any of the materials being submitted.
From the plaintiff’s perspective, these circumstances should make this one of the more challenging Fortnite dance lawsuits to win.
Is this just a case of a creator’s family seeing a get-rich-quick opportunity and throwing their name in the hat? We’ll have to see as the case unfolds, but you can read the complaint on Scribd in the meantime.
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