Epic games has been accused of copyright infringement
New York rapper 2 Milly has filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against Fortnite developer Epic Games in California district court. 2 Milly (real name Terrence Ferguson) claims his dance moves from the video for his song “Milly Rock” were appropriated for the Fortnite emote ‘Swipe It’.
Fortnite has come under scrutiny recently for its use of several popular dance moves that originated in the hip-hop scene, including BlocBoy JB’s ‘shoot’ dance and Snoop Dogg’s ‘Drop It Like It’s Hot’ moves.
Court documents, examined by Pitchfork, show that 2 Milly believes Epic Games should not be able to profit from “should not be able to profit from Ferguson’s fame and hard work by its intentional misappropriation of Ferguson’s original content or likeness.”
Those documents also referenced other dance moves first coined by black musicians and actors which 2 Milly claims “consistently sought to exploit African-American talent in particular in Fortnite by copying their dances and movements.”
According to CNBC, Epic has made over $1 billion in revenue off of Fortnite since its release in September 2017, and 2 Milly wants injunctive relief as well as unspecified damages.
Epic Games have not yet released a statement addressing the lawsuit.
