Mother of ‘Orange Shirt Kid’ sues Epic Games over son’s ‘Orange Justice’ dance that made it into Fortnite
The 'Orange Justice' dance was added to the game after it was entered into Epic's BoogieDown contest to find new moves players could bust out in-game
EPIC GAMES is being sued over another dance in Fortnite -- and this time, it's one that was directly submitted them as part of a contest and that fans campaigned to get into the game.
The Orange Justice dance was submitted as part of the firm's BoogieDown contest last March, and while it didn't win it made it into the game in May.
This came after a fan campaign for 'Orange Shirt Kid' and his dance to be incorporated into the game after the YouTube video of his moves--which has since been deleted--went viral.
Orange Shirt Kid, referred to in the legal filings as CCM, celebrated the addition of the moves to the game on Twitter after entering the contest using the bird-themed social network.
His mother, Rachel McCumbers, is seeking unspecified damages from Epic, citing allegations of copyright infringement, publicity rights, trademark infringement and competition law.
It is unclear if any trademark or copyright filings had previously been made.
The rules of the original contest, which are still online, state that the competition is only open to "adults who are Fortnite Licensees".
It also stated that submission granted Epic "non-exclusive, perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, transferable, sublicensable, and royalty free license to use, modify, reproduce, prepare derivative works of, distribute, perform, and display the Submission in any and all media throughout the world and for whatever purpose."
The rules go on to say explicitly that contestants will not be paid for their submissions.
However, given CCM was a child when the dance itself was entered into the competition these conditions would not be enforceable.
McCumbers is just the latest person to file a suit against Epic over dances in the massively popular game, looking for a slice of the £2.3billion profit the Fortnite-maker raked in last year.
Other high-profile litigants include Alfonso Ribeiro, who claims the game's 'Fresh' dance is based off a routine he performed while starring as the nerdy Carlton in the Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air.
An almost identical suit was filed earlier this month by US rapper 2 Milly for the same reason.
Other dances in the game look to be lifted wholesale from elsewhere, with Chance the Rapper, BlocBoy JB and even Scrubs star Donald Faison, who claims he came up with the moves copied for the 'Dance Moves' emote.
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However, it is currently unclear if dance moves and other similar movements are even copyrightable under current US or international copyright laws.
McCumbers, Ribeiro and 2Milly are all being represented by the same law firm, Pierce Bainbridge Beck Price & Hecht.
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