His parents, who manage his career, which is weird for a YouTube celebrity, but whatever...are the ones suing on his behalf. He said he doesn't really care that much, and even said he was fine with it being in the game.

He said a while back that he should be compensated for it in reference to another game it was in...NBA2K(not sure the year). But that seemed more like joking, and not a real expectation of getting paid.

Whether he's telling the truth or not I dunno. The lawsuit filed on his behalf could be something he wants, but he can deny accountability and remove some of the negative hate that'll come from it by disavowing his intent. In the mean time, he lawsuit alone will bring him attention, which is probably more valuable to his parents as managers...and likely him. They have to know that the single dance move he performs as a dance, is not a routine, and is not able to be copyrighted.

Personally, what little I watched of him was rather dull. Maybe it's a generational thing, but if this is what passes for entertainment nowadays, it's no wonder everyone runs to the internet to annoy everyone else.

Anyhow, they should have waited for the first lawsuit to finish. Robero has the money and more standing for his case, and it could set a precedent, instead of them potentially fighting an expensive legal battle. Epic isn't known to settle when they think they've done no wrong, and in a case without precedent, they're likely to fight on the chance they won't have to pay others. If they settle, they'll receive a flood of lawsuits, and it'll force the expectation of compensation for the entire industry to have to pay....which could cause a flood of these sorts of claims for any game that offers them....like most online games really, since at least half of them have some sort of dance move taken from other sources.

The dance from Alfonso Ribeiro is a choreography, not a single dance move, which they did shamelessly copy. Much like with Donald Faison, who also had a full choreography and not a single move. These are, in fact, covered by law.

"Wish people, or at least their lawyers, would learn the law before doing these frivolous lawsuits."

This is actually the sad state of having the ability to sue anyone over anything. Anyone can try to sue. It's up to the court to decide if its worthwhile to actually go through with it.

Also, many people that try suing know full well they are in the wrong or that they don't have a leg to stand on. But they do it anyway because a lot of companies will just settle out of court because it's cheaper than actually paying to get lawyers and fight it in court, even if they win.

The really crappy people in these situations are the lawyers that agree to take the case knowing full well it is a frivolous lawsuit, yet they take the case anyway in Hope's of settling out of court.

Forza four also.

Association isn't claimable, except when done as part of a trademarked brand....like Apple for instance. There are many things that came before someone uses them, and it isn't right to have someone else be able to claim something as theirs just because they popularized it. In this instance, the name of "Carlton Dance", could be considered a trademarked part of a brand, however, the Carlton character and the actual dance aren't trademarked, even in an implied sense, as they're part of a different trademarked property and that trademark isn't known for that dance...so even if somehow it becomes trademarked now, Epic wouldn't have been in the wrong on this point, and as far as I know, since they used it before it was trademarked, they are entitled to use it afterwards, as there is no grandfather clause on trademarking....which is why some older games can still use Candy in their name.

I know of no such thing as a publicity claim, unless you're talking about trademarks. Dances can't be trademarked, they are an intellectual property for the routines. And they fall into that category for claims.

I think people understand the issue that Epic is making millions, people are questioning if the people that inspired the dances have a right to compensation because the dances themselves may not be something that can be considered intellectual property, or they might be considered derivative work.

Pfft. I don't need a stupid dance to embarrass my SO at a business Christmas Party. I'm a real man, I can do that all on my own without any fancy tricks.:)

Yeah but Fornite is kind of a cancer. I mean, I get that it could be fun, but the hype is undeserved. It's only popular, because it's popular, some how. Because of streamers, and e-sports/tournaments, which I'm pretty sure Epic has a hand in. If you look at it objectively, it's really not that great, there are way better video game experiences. Epic did a real good job of taking popular culture and milking the fk out of people. Take away costumes, and dance moves, their paid tournaments. This game would be dead. GAURANTEED. It's the bandwagon effect. Aesthetics, thrown money, shouldn't make the game.