Epic Games was accused of plagiarizing the choreography of the "It's Complicated" dance emote in its battle royale shooter Fortnite.
According to Kotaku, the legal representatives of choreographer Kyle Hanagami filed a lawsuit in the Central District of California on March 29, claiming Epic Games profited from their client's work without his consent. The video game developer was charged with illegally distributing a "derivative work based on the Registered Choreography," with Hanagami's lawyers adding that Epic Games never attempted to consult Hanagami for permission to use his choreography. The lawsuit alleged Epic Games' use of "It's Complicated" infringed on Hanagami's copyright, arguing Epic Games should remove the dance from the game and compensate Hanagami with the proceeds earned from the emote's sales.
David Hecht, one of Hanagami's attorneys, uploaded a video showcasing Hanagami's choreography and the emote in question. The short clip displayed a side-by-side comparison of Hanagami's dance and an in-game character performing the "It's Complicated" emote, highlighting similarities between the two performances. While the dances do share a striking resemblance, it might not mean Epic Games is out of options, as the emote employed other moves in addition to Hanagami's claimed dance choreography. Epic Games also previously asserted dances fell under the protection of free speech, arguing that only complex patterns of movement could be considered for copyright security.
This isn't the first time artists took aim at Fortnite and its litany of emotes. Epic Games previously came under fire when it was accused of stealing distinctive moves from a number of popular dances, with rapper 2 Milly and actor Alfonso Ribeiro among the list of aggrieved parties. The litigations were temporarily dropped in 2019 after the U.S. Supreme Court adjusted the process of filing a copyright lawsuit, necessitating the refiling of several of the suits. Hecht, who previously represented 2 Milly and Ribeiro in their respective lawsuits against Epic Games, stated Hanagami's case wouldn't face the same problems, as the choreography was already registered under copyright.
Hecht also said Hanagami "felt compelled to file suit to stand up for the many choreographers whose work is similarly misappropriated." The attorney further stated that choreography fell under the same copyright protections as other art forms, urging Epic Games to "respect that fact and pay to license the artistic creations of others before selling them."
Fortnite is available on multiple platforms, including PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, PC and mobile devices.
Source: Kotaku
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