After we reported their recent controversy over the Milly Rock, Fornite’s creators were hit with another suit for using the Carlton Dance, as were the makers of NBA 2K16.
Alfonso Ribeiro – best known as Carlton Banks from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air – claims the creators of Fortnite and NBA 2K16 are ripping off his Carlton Dance. See Ribeiro v. Epic Games, Inc., 18-cv-10412 (C.D. Cal.); Ribeiro v. Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc., 18-cv-10417 (C.D. Cal.). Ribeiro alleges his dance has become inextricably linked with his likeness and publicity, but the video game developers are selling it to gamers without his consent. This, Ribeiro asserts, amounts to copyright infringement and violations under a slew of other state law claims.
It remains to be seen whether other entertainers join 2 Milly and Ribeiro to litigate over stolen dance moves.