American actor gets no copyright on dance from Fortnite and NBA 2K

The American copyright office has ruled that actor Alfonso Ribeiro will not receive the copyright to the so-called Carlton dance from the TV series The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. This dance is included in Fortnite and NBA 2K games; the actor sued the makers.

The US Copyright Office, the official US government agency that maintains copyright records, has unequivocally determined that the Carlton dance is a “simple dance routine” and therefore “not registerable as a choreographic work.” The agency substantiates this refusal by describing and analyzing the three main components of the dance very precisely, mentioning, among other things, the ‘exaggerated swinging of the arms’.

With this decision, the agency indicates that such works, such as the dance that Ribeiro performed as the character Carlton in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, due to their simplicity, do not lend themselves to being protected by copyright. For that, the work has to be more substantial. The agency states that “social dances, simple routines and other non-copyrighted movements” cannot be considered “choreographic works” under US copyright law.

This probably means that the indictments of Ribeiro, among others, have little chance, just like the similar subpoenas of various rappers. These artists have all criticized Epic Games, because they believe that the game maker should not just include the dances they claim in Fortnite.

In the context of rapper Terrence ‘2 Milly’ Ferguson’s lawsuit, attorney Dale Cendali recently argued that in his view no one can own a dance step and that attempts to do so are contrary to the principles of free speech, because can harm creative expression. Cendali’s office represents both Epic Games and Take-Two.

Epic Games, among others, has resisted the attempts of the artists to have the dances removed from Fortnite, but Playground Games, for example, previously tied in. The creator of Forza Horizon 4 removed two dance emotes from the racing game a month ago, namely The Carlton and The Floss.