*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.
The e-commerce giant announced Tuesday it would raise the minimum wage for all employees to $15 an hour and lobby for an increase in the federal wage, which has stood at $7.25 since 2009.
Tune in at 10:50 am ET, when we speak to David Clark, Amazon's SVP of Worldwide Operations, about the news.
Olivier Rabiller, president and CEO of Honeywell spinoff Garrett Motion, told Cheddar on Monday that the company's strategy will not be to change too much. Rabiller also said that as the company heads into the electric vehicle space, he sees Tesla as a potential customer, not a competitor.
After the Pulse Nightclub shooting in Orlando in 2016, Sarah Ullman felt called to action. The Los Angeles-based filmmaker is the founder of "One Vote at a Time," a Super PAC created to stop gun violence. She spends her days making free campaign ads for politicians who support gun control policies and are running in competitive districts.
Tesla reportedly made a record 80,000 vehicles in the third quarter, marking a welcome change of subject for a company and CEO buffeted by scandal. Sean O'Kane, reporter for The Verge, and John Reed Stark, an SEC attorney, discussed the future of the company and how the settlement with regulators will affect Musk personally.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know.
With Facebook racing to contain the damage from its latest -- and largest ever -- security breach, Michael Nuñez, the deputy tech editor for Mashable, said that users are starting to get smarter about what kind of data they share with the company.
Verizon launched its first 5G network in four U.S. cities Monday. One possible use for the technology will be in rolling out self-driving vehicles. Hans Vestberg, CEO of Verizon Communications, said that while it will take some time for fully-autonomous cars to be deployed, 5G will help in solving connectivity and latency issues.
Hans Vestberg, CEO of Verizon Communications, said that the newest 5G network that Verizon is launching in four new cities, is the answer for cord-cutters. The network is the fastest on the market, and Vestberg said it's "a new way to get TV into your home."
Wells Fargo has officially launched a new digital organizer "Control Tower" within its mobile banking app, so customers nationwide can track their increasingly complex and scattered financial footprints. Ben Soccorsy, head of digital payments for Wells Fargo Virtual Channels, told Cheddar, "Customers want the ability to control their data and share it when and how they want."
Tesla looked to claw back its losses Monday after Elon Musk settled a lawsuit with the SEC, agreeing to pay a $20 million fine and step down as chairman for at least three years.
