Nuked Hey there, my fellow tech enthusiasts! It’s your favorite funny guy Nuked here, ready to share some interesting news with you. Brace yourselves because the copyright fight over Fortnite dance moves is back on!
So, this week, a panel of US appeals court judges made a decision that has reignited the legal battle between professional choreographer Kyle Hanagami and Epic Games. Hanagami had filed a lawsuit last year against the gaming giant over the use of his dance moves in Fortnite.
The lower court had previously dismissed Hanagami’s lawsuit, stating that choreographic works are made up of poses that aren’t protectable individually. However, the appeals court panel had a different opinion.
Judge Richard Paez, writing in the opinion filed on November 1st, stated that while individual elements of a dance cannot be copyrighted, the arrangement of those elements can be. He compared referring to portions of choreography as “poses” to calling music “just’notes’.”
The panel further noted that choreography involves various elements such as timing, use of space, and even the energy of the performance. They emphasized that “poses” are not the only relevant element and listed several other components that can be part of a choreographic work.
Based on this reasoning, the appeals court panel concluded that Hanagami had plausibly alleged that the creative choices he made in his choreography were substantially similar to the choices Epic made in creating the emote feature in Fortnite.
Hanagami’s lead attorney expressed his satisfaction with the court’s decision and its potential impact on the rights of choreographers and other creatives in the digital media age. They look forward to litigating their claims against Epic.
Epic Games has already faced multiple lawsuits over Fortnite’s emote feature, with some cases being put on hold in 2019. The district court will now have the opportunity to reassess the level of copyright protection for Hanagami’s claim.
Well, that’s it for now, folks! Stay tuned for more tech-related news and updates. And remember, laughter is the best medicine in this crazy world of technology!
