Can You Own Dance Moves?

More than 20 years ago, actor Alfonso Ribeiro created a goofy dance called the Carlton for the hit TV show The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. In 2016, Russell Horning, better known as the Backpack Kid, started an internet sensation with the arm-swinging dance the Floss.

Today, versions of both dances are reaching a bigger audience, thanks to the video game Fortnite Battle Royale. But Ribeiro and Horning aren’t happy about it.
In fact, they’re both suing Epic Games, the company that created Fortnite.

They argue that the dances shouldn’t be included in the game without their permission. These performers are demanding that Epic Games stop using their creations—and pay them a whole lot of money.

Although it’s free to play Fortnite, gamers can buy items for their characters, including dances called emotes. Dances like Fortnite’s version of the Carlton, called Fresh, cost $5 to $10 each. With nearly 200 million Fortnite players around the globe, those small fees can add up fast. Last year, Fortnite earned $2.4 billion, the most ever made by a video game!

Epic Games doesn’t deny that its emotes are similar to real-life dances. But the company says it doesn’t owe Horning or Ribeiro any money. Its main argument? No one can own a dance step. Many legal experts agree. They say short dance routines like the Floss and the Carlton aren’t complex enough for someone to own.

Jeanne Fromer is a law professor at New York University. She thinks the performers suing Epic Games will have a hard time winning in court. But, she says, the Fortnite dance debate is not just a legal issue. It also raises an ethical argument. Even if a judge decides the performers don’t own the dance steps, they did make the moves popular. 

“Epic Games is making a lot of money off the Backpack Kid,” says Fromer. “There’s the law, and there’s what’s right.”