The US Supreme Court has decided to suspend consideration of lawsuits by a number of actors and internet celebrities against Epic Games.
Rapper Terrence Ferguson (known as 2 Milly), actor Alfonso Ribeiro, the “backpack kid” and the “orange shirt kid” are suing Epic Games. All accuse Epic Games of copyright infringement and illegal use of their invented dances in the game Fortnite.
The US Supreme Court ruled that the plaintiffs must first go through the appropriate copyright registration process. After that, the cases can be continued.
In February, the US Copyright Office refused to recognize Alfonso Ribeiro's copyright to the dance from the TV series “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air”. The reason is described by the word “simple” - all movements in the dance are simple.
However, attorney Ethan Jacobs, specializing in intellectual property cases, noted that the Supreme Court only mentioned the registration process, not the full acquisition of copyrights.