Alfonso Ribeiro is suing Epic Games for using his dance move in Fortnite

VinsCool · Dec 18, 2018

Lol, dude is mad because the game gets more attention than him.

duwen · Dec 18, 2018

Ridiculous.
Unless it's been trademarked he stands no chance of winning that battle.
No one can "own" a dance move.

comput3rus3r · Dec 18, 2018

you can't patent a dance, Alfonso.

Chary · Dec 18, 2018

Fortnite + Person with uninformed lawyer = dollar signs.

I'm sure Epic has filed this away with the hundreds of other baseless lawsuits.

comput3rus3r · Dec 18, 2018

Chary said:
Fortnite + Person with uninformed lawyer = wasted dollars .

I'm sure Epic has filed this away with the hundreds of other baseless lawsuits.

fixed

duwen · Dec 18, 2018

If he licensed his likeness to another game that incorporated the dance, he might stand a chance... someone hook him up with PUBG.

Astral_ · Dec 18, 2018

comput3rus3r said:
you can't patent a dance, Alfonso.

And even if you could, there is no way the Fresh dance is associated with Alfonso Ribeiro.

It is the Carlton Dance, FFS !

Bladexdsl · Dec 18, 2018

dudes dancing career is going under so he needs another way to make $

Deleted User · Dec 18, 2018

I had to do a double-take on that title honestly.. Thought my sleep deprivation was getting the best of me

WiiUBricker · Dec 18, 2018

Go me! I´ll show them what happens to anybody who steals my move!

The Catboy · Dec 18, 2018

So it's worth noting that you technically can copyright a dance style, but I am not finding any records to show that he has a filed for a copyright on his dance style. This basically means that it's completely legal for them to use his dance style.
That being said, he would have a hell of a time trying to copyright his dance now that he's actually trying to press legal charges without any legal ground to stand on. And even if he did, the game would still be safe as it exists before any copyright was made. This isn't just stupid and a waste of time, this is the kind of stupid that's just going to end so badly for him.

Raverrevolution · Dec 18, 2018

Is he going to sue the makers of Astrobot too? Those little robots do it at well at the end of the stage.

SuperNintendho · Dec 18, 2018

I guess im the only person that feels like its wrong. Sure Carlton may not have a case here since he was lazy about getting a copyright (trademark?) but EPIC knowingly and purposefully appropriated a bunch of popular unique dances to help drive popularity of fortnite if not straight up profit directly from them in some cases.
In my mind EPIC pulled a Carlos Menstealia and somebody standing up to this is kinda necessary.

WiiUBricker · Dec 18, 2018

Lilith Valentine said:
This basically means that it's completely legal for them to use his dance style.

No.

The important thing here is that they sell the move. Carlton can argue that he made the move famous and that it’s globally recognized as the “Carlton Dance”. There is one type of copyright (I think it’s called common copyright or something) that doesn’t need to be registered (but it helps if it is registered) and if Carlton is lucky, the judge will side with him, unless, of course, they settle out of court. There is plenty of useful information on reddit and other sites (lol TMZ) if you’re interested. This place consists mostly of fanboys who defend Fortnite like sheep without knowing anything about copyright.

The Catboy · Dec 18, 2018

WiiUBricker said:
No.

The important thing here is that they sell the move. Carlton can argue that he made the move famous and that it’s globally recognized as the “Carlton Dance”. There is one type of copyright (I think it’s called common copyright or something) that doesn’t need to be registered (but it helps if it is registered) and if Carlton is lucky, the judge will side with him, unless, of course, they settle out of court. There is plenty of useful information on reddit and other sites (lol TMZ) if you’re interested. This place consists mostly of fanboys who defend Fortnite like sheep without knowing anything about copyright.

There's actually more information I was about to add.
See, he did indeed made it famous, but he also needs to prove that he actually created it to file for copyright

The dance must be your original work: it must originate with you and show some minimal level of creativity.

Source
Which is indeed grounds for denial if he can't prove that he was the creator of this dance

Work was not independently created (that is, not an original work)

Source
This dance originated from The Fresh Prince, which means he needs to prove that he created it completely independently from everyone else involved in the production of the show. Just because he made it famous doesn't mean that he made this dance and or that the dance actually belongs to him. As well you do need to have your copyright registered to file a lawsuit

You cannot file a lawsuit for copyright infringement unless you have registered your copyright.

Source
Without evidence to prove that he was the original creator of the dance nor approved copyright, he has no legal ground to stand on for this case.
I don't even play Fortnite, but I do care about these kinds of cases. They are a mixed bag of some rather amusing abuse of the court system and often result in the same thing happening (either they settle out of court or defendant never follows through.)

TunaKetchup · Dec 18, 2018

Bunch of kiddies playing pretend lawyer in here

Funny

duwen · Dec 18, 2018

TunaKetchup said:
Bunch of kiddies playing pretend lawyer in here

Funny

lol... person thinking that people intelligently discussing laws makes them "pretend lawyers".

Thulinma · Dec 18, 2018

Lilith Valentine said:
So it's worth noting that you technically can copyright a dance style, but I am not finding any records to show that he has a filed for a copyright on his dance style. This basically means that it's completely legal for them to use his dance style.
That being said, he would have a hell of a time trying to copyright his dance now that he's actually trying to press legal charges without any legal ground to stand on. And even if he did, the game would still be safe as it exists before any copyright was made. This isn't just stupid and a waste of time, this is the kind of stupid that's just going to end so badly for him.

Common misconception: you don't "file" for a copyright. It's a right you automatically gain the moment you do something creative.
Though, in the USA specifically, dance moves do not have any rights associated with them. In most of the rest of the world they do. This means stealing dances (just the dance itself, nothing else) is perfectly legal within the USA, in practically any context or situation.

Lilith Valentine said:
Which is indeed grounds for denial if he can't prove that he was the creator of this dance

Sorta! Even if he did create it, and even if this wasn't in the USA and there were rights involved to begin with, copyright for "work for hire" automatically goes towards the employer. In other words: rights would be owned by the studio that produced the TV show, not the actor. (Unless his contract specifically excluded the automatic rights transfer - but that would be extremely uncommon for such a contract.)

sarkwalvein · Dec 18, 2018

This is interesting.
I wonder where this will go if more people keep joining.
You know, laws change based on necessity... and on lobbyists.

Well... you could always argue that Epic will have the most lobbyists, but I will still grab my popcorn and enjoy the show.

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