Epic Games has made "Fortnite Battle Royale" incredibly popular in almost every single part of the world. The video game has had a huge impact on pop culture, and over 200 million players have played it at some point. This includes everyone, from little kids to older people, even professional athletes have become addicted to it. The game is very fun and it is free-to-play, which makes it accessible to everyone who wants to try it out.
The video game creator makes his profit by selling cosmetic items in "Fortnite Battle Royale." There are many different cosmetic items, including banners, emoticons, outfits, back blings, skydiving trails, and more. However, many players will agree that, besides skins, in-game emotes are most important cosmetic items. Epic Games has found inspiration for emotes in many different moves and dances, and some of them have led to lawsuits. Popular YouTuber and lawyer LegalEagle has recently talked about it, discussing possible outcomes of these lawsuits.
Epic Games could be in trouble
Some of these lawsuits don't make a lot of sense, but the "Fortnite Battle Royale" developer could still be in trouble.
It is very likely the development team hasn't quite followed all the rules when it comes to making in-game emotes, which is why they now have to deal with numerous lawsuits. LegalEagle has given his expert advice on the matter, and he has clarified what exactly needs to happen for dance creators to win a lawsuit against Epic Games.
While the law does protect dances when it comes to copyright, simple routines and social dance steps are not included in this. “A work must be original to its author, and that work must be independently created by the author itself. And it must possess at least some minimal degree of creativity,” LegalEagle clarified on his YouTube channel.
The popular YouTuber has taken Epic Games' side in this case, and he even called these lawsuits ridiculous.
This certainly doesn't mean that the video game creator is going to win every single lawsuit, but it is going to be very hard to prove the origin of some in-game emotes.
The Backpack Kid and Carlton
The Backpack Kid claims he invented the Floss dance, while Alfonso Ribeiro, the actor who played Carlton in "Fresh Prince of Bel-Air," said he came up with his dance by combining other peoples' moves. It has already been proven that Floss dance existed before the Backpack Kid, so it is very likely that Epic Games is going to win this lawsuit. On the other side, Ribeiro did not exactly admit that the Fresh dance is his, which is why he may end up losing the lawsuit as well.
There are a few other artists who are suing Epic Games or are going to do it.
However, it is very likely that they are going to win lawsuits. It is extremely hard to prove that they created dances, and in most cases, they are simply trying to win some extra money from the successful company.