Fortnite Wins Yet Another Copyright Claim Concerning One Of Their Emote Dances

Another Fortnite choreography copyright claim has concluded. Epic has faced a multitude of controversial cases beginning in 2018 over the sources of their popular dance emotes in Fortnite. 2Mily and Alfonso Ribeiro both filed lawsuits against the game company with a claim of copyright infringement, but the Supreme Court determined that dance choreography has to be formally copyrighted before and artist can sue, throwing out most of the cases against Epic and Fortnite.

However, it turns out that even if choreography that is properly copyrighted, like Kyle Hanagami’s dance routine for Charlie Puth's 'How Long', the case can still be thrown out. Even though a very convincing video (shown below) was shared that illuminated just how identical the two dances were, the Judge dismissed the case due to the law applying to more lengthy movements, and that the dance was simply too short, going on to say: “The Copyright Act's legislative history specifically states that 'choreographic works do not include social dance steps and simple routines.'" It is hard to imagine any group, dance, or choreography succeeding against Epic in court given this interpretation of the law.