“I think the concerns were more that people would try to copyright exercise systems, or combinations of yoga postures, which are traditional,” says Jennifer Lantz, an intellectual property and trademark lawyer with Haynes & Boone. The right to publicity generally prevents the use of your name, image, likeness or other recognizable aspects by someone else for commercial gain without your permission. If the moonwalk were owned by the estate of Michael Jackson, it could maybe then sue a Ribeiro’s case is murkier. Alfonso Ribeiro has found an unusual similarity between Fortnite's "Fresh" dance and his signature "Carlton Dance," and he'd like to get paid for it, thankyouverymuch. “Epic has consistently sought to exploit African-American talent, in particular in Fortnite, by copying their dances and movements and sell them through emotes.”COVID cases increasing rapidly in Whitewater'There was zero probability going forward': Tommy Bartlett Show to permanently close after 69 yearsActor Alfonso Ribeiro is suing to stop two video game developers from selling a dance popularized by his “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” character.Ribeiro, best known as Carlton Banks from the 1990s “Fresh Prince” sitcom, says in the court filings that he is “inextricably linked” to the dance — a joyous, arm-swinging boogie often performed to Tom Jones’ “It’s Not Unusual.”UW-Madison grad student admits pretending to be a person of colorDemocrats hold ‘Your health, your vote’ event ahead of president’s Wisconsin visitThe game provides in-game purchases like dances called “emotes,” which have become so popular that teens all over the world post videos of themselves doing the dances with the hashtag #fortnitedance or #fortnitevideos, according to the lawsuit against Epic.

“Fortnite” offers dance moves as in-game purchases in the popular game.

“Some people say, ‘Oh it’s not an issue, but times have changed.’ But even if the courts say dance moves can’t be copyrighted, maybe Congress will change the law,” says Jean-Louis. Strangely enough, later during Katy Perry’s SNL performance in 2017Bruce Springsteen’s “Dancing in the Dark” music videoEddie Murphy’s iconic “white people can’t dance” bitIf the suit does go to court, Epic’s emote-creation process would likely come under scrutiny.

He is asking the court for damages and that both companies stop profiting from the dance.“Epic intentionally induces others to perform these dances and mark them with those hashtags, which give attribution to and endorse Fortnite the game,” the lawsuit states. “Through their use of The Dance as an in-game dance emote that can be purchased as The Fresh, Defendants misappropriated Ribeiro’s identity,” reads Ribeiro’s complaint. More significantly, it would require licensing deals for the dance moves used as the basis of emotes, resulting in significant changes to Emotes have become a big business in the game industry. Carlton Banks’ signature moves popularized in the 1990s sitcom “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” are dancing into federal court. If Epic turned Ferguson into a playable Fortnite character without his permission, it would be a clear violation of his right of publicity.The first case comes from a rapper called 2 Milly, whose real name is Terrance Ferguson.

Game studios make new ones every day, and Epic sells its Fortnite emotes for anywhere between $5 and $10, contributing substantially to the hundreds of millions in monthly revenue earned by its battle royale mega-hit. Pro/Celebrity Race at the Grand Prix of Long Beach on April 18, 2015 in Long Beach, California. Epic recently announced that 78.3 million users logged in to play Fortnite in August. His signature dance, known colloquially as “The Carlton,” was turned into a Fortnite emote called “Fresh.” A third lawsuit came from Russell Horning, otherwise known as “Backpack Kid… Ferguson is believed to have invented the Milly Rock in the music video for “Milly Rock x 2 Milly,” but Horning’s case is less clear cut. “There’s no definitive case law determining this.” When the Copyright Act of 1976 was passed, it finally established rules around choreography, with some limited fair use cases around criticism and dance education. There’s only a certain number of music notes, or words in the English language and music notes. If Epic played Ferguson’s song, “Milly Rock x 2 Milly,” when the Swipe It emote was engaged, it would be an obvious infringement of Ferguson’s copyright in the song. Attorney David L. Hecht says he and his firm are also representing rapper 2 Milly and Russell Horning, also known as the “Backpack Kid,” in lawsuits against Epic Games over Fortnite’s use of their signature dances within the game. Take-Two subsidiary 2K Games did not respond to a request for comment.Similarly, the lawsuit against Take-Two Interactive says the basketball game NBA 2K sold the game many refer to as the “Carlton dance” as an in-game purchase. Ribeiro sued Take-Two for copying the Carlton dance, which he created while playing Fresh Prince character Carlton Banks, for a celebratory dance gesture in NBA 2K. Epic mostly wins Fortnite saxophone lawsuit, but judge lets one claim go forward; The ‘Carlton dance… The biggest question is whether a dance move can be copyrighted at all — a legal matter that has never been fully answered. It’s the beginning of a complicated and precedent-setting series of legal cases, dealing with both dance as an art form and the video game industry at large. Lantz says the video game industry is more familiar with likeness cases than with something like dance and copyright. A trademark protects a word, phrase, or mark that identifies the source of goods or services, so in order for a dance to receive a trademark, it must be the name and/or logo of the dance.

The complaint details Ribeiro’s extensive dance background, but just because he is highly skilled — and he unquestionably is — that doesn’t mean The Carlton requires it. The argument that the Carlton Dance is highly associated with Ribeiro’s persona is strong as he has been performing it upon request for decades, and he has not granted Epic Games permission to use it, obviously.Ribeiro isn't the only dancer to file such a lawsuit against Epic Games over its emotes. (Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)Beyond that, even if the dance may be copyrighted, NBC, which produced “Fresh Prince,” could have something to say about who would own it.Is Fortnite’s interpretation transformed enough to be its own expression?Alfonso Ribeiro celebrates by demonstrating the Carlton Dance after winning the 38th Annual ToyotaIn case you're wondering, dances may be trademarked, kind of. Of course, the drafters of the Copyright Act never foresaw the emergence of internet memes, or that online games would repurpose them as a means of digital commerce.