Alfonso Ribeiro's Case Over 'Fortnite' Dance Is About More Than Copyright Laws
*By Chloe Aiello*
Actor Alfonso Ribeiro's case against Epic Games for its use of "the Carlton" dance in "Fortnite" might come down to a jury's sympathy, rather than copyright technicalities, intellectual property lawyer Gaston Kroub told Cheddar on Tuesday.
"I think it's a mistake to only focus on the copyright issues, because you do have this idea where you have this right of publicity under California state law ... Could a sympathetic jury decide that these \[artists\] deserve something from 'Fortnite'? That's something that remains to be seen," said Kroub, a partner at Kroub, Silbersher & Kolmykov.
Ribeiro, who rose to fame playing Carlton on "The Fresh Prince of Bel Air," is suing Epic and Take-Two Interactive, the maker of "NBA 2K." Both use "the Carlton" step that Ribeiro made famous on the show as an "emote," a celebratory dance that can be purchased by players in-game.
Ribeiro is just the latest celebrity or influencer to file a suit. Rapper 2 Milly and Instagrammer Russell “Backpack Kid” Horning have also filed complaints for misappropriation of their respective dances, the "Milly Rock" and "the Floss," [Variety reported](https://variety.com/2018/gaming/news/fortnite-dance-lawsuit-1203092141/). The complaints allege copyright infringement and claim the game creators are violating the right of publicity of the celebrities associated with the dances.
"What Alfonso Ribeiro and 2 Milly and the Backpack Kid now have claimed is it looks like they're endorsing 'Fortnite''s use of their dance moves and they haven't provided that permission," Kroub said.
The outcome of these cases is difficult to predict.
"You can't copyright a single dance move but you can copyright under the copyright act choreography," he said, adding that copyrights on the moves are still pending.
"Really at the heart of this, though, is the fact that Epic is making a lot of money and these dances are generating revenue."
He added that one potential defense for Epic or Take-Two is to claim they were parodying, not performing, the dances. That said, the case will also depend on the items uncovered during discovery ー whether or not the game makers contacted any artists or just assumed the dances were public domain.
Most interestingly, Kroub said the complaints venture into "uncharted territory."
"No one knew a year ago 'the Carlton' would be generating untold numbers of revenue for a company, like Epic. And what we are seeing is video games are a big business and celebrities want to be associated," he said.
Almost every industry now uses online shopping and ordering, but some products require a different packing material, and many times, shipping products can be wasteful. TemperPack aims to solve both issues with its ClimaCell liners, which you might recognize if you have ever ordered a meal subscription kit. Brian Powers, co-founder and Chief Growth Officer at TemperPack, joins Closing Bell to discuss TemperPack's ClimaCell liners, the company's sustainability mission, its corporate customer base, and more.
Uber and Lyft drivers are cruising in Washington State, the first U.S. state to set an earnings standard for drivers for the ride-hailing companies. Governor Jay Inslee signed the new minimum pay standard into law Thursday, which also gives drivers access to perks like paid sick time and family medical leave. John Logan, Director of Labor and Employment Studies at San Francisco State University, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Carsten Koerl, CEO of Sportradar, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he explains how his company is bolstering the platforms of sports betting and streaming networks, and discusses basketball legend and Sportradar investor Michael Jordan's role in helping the company grow.
A new NFT network claims it is disrupting the art market, and is doing so by following in the footsteps of art legends Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat. Tripsters says it is creating a new and revolutionary concept in the NFT space, by allowing users to combine two NFTs in order to create a new third NFT. Tripsters says the feature will be compatible with multiple NFT collections in the future, but the first Tripsters' airdrop will be compatible with the Bored Ape Yacht Club collection. Jayson Winer, co-founder of Tripsters, and Oskar Kowalski, a senior advisor for the startup, join Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Just a week after talks of him starting his own social media platform, Tesla CEO Elon Musk purchased a 9.2 percent stake in Twitter. The stock by resulted in a price surge for both Twitter and Tesla stocks, but questions are swirling about how much of an active stake this will be for the controversial figure who's had a fraught relationship with the platform over the years. Dan Ives, the managing director of equity research at Wedbush, joined Cheddar News to discuss. "I think this is a start of what's gonna really be a soap opera with Musk, either getting on the board or forcing significant strategic changes at Twitter," he noted.
Bees are responsible for the bulk of fruit and vegetable pollination — and they're negatively being affected by climate change. Tech startup Beewise is offering a solution with artificial intelligence to create robotic, autonomous hives to help the vulnerable bee populations. Saar Safra, co-founder & CEO, joined Cheddar News to talk about the company's recent $80 million to help make this project possible. "Our solution is not only hardware," he said. "Its software and biology all in one device. That's the challenge, and that's what sets us apart."
Space tourism continues to be generating buzz after the most recent Blue Origin launch. Two of its passengers made history as the first married couple to travel to space. The couple, Marc Hagle, CEO at Tricor, and Sharon Hagle, CEO at Spacekids Global, joined Cheddar News fresh off of their trip to talk about their experience and future space travel plans. "If there is a Santa Claus, we’ll have the opportunity to fly with Virgin Galactic, and maybe we'll have the opportunity to fly with SpaceX," said Marc Hagle, followed by Sharon explaining they had already signed up with Virgin Galactic about 15 years ago.
The metaverse may be the next big thing in the music world. Cheddar News’ Michelle Castillo sat down with Jon Vlassopulos, VP and head of music at Roblox, to discuss virtual concerts and more.
