2 Milly will sue Fortnite creators for allegedly stealing his dance

“Scrubs” actor Donald Faison said his dance to “Poison”
on the show was “jacked” as the default dance for
“Fortnite.”
YouTube

• Rapper 2 Milly said he will sue the creators of
  “Fortnite” for allegedly copying his dance the “Milly Rock” and
  selling it in the game.
• While 2 Milly has been the most vocal about the
  similarities of a “Fortnite” dance to existing work, several
  artists have accused the game’s creators of taking their dances
  without permission or pay.
• “Fortnite: Battle Royale” is the
  world’s most popular game, making more than $200 million a
  month selling emotes and other cosmetic items for use in
  game.

Brooklyn rapper 2 Milly plans to sue “Fortnite” creator Epic
Games for allegedly copying and profiting off of a dance he
created, the “Milly Rock.” 

2 Milly has been vocal about his distaste for the game’s
monetization of popular dances in interviews with Insider and CBS
News. The “Milly Rock” dance originally arose in 2014 from the
video for 2 Milly’s song of the same name, “Milly Rock.”

“Fortnite” added a dancing
emote called “Swipe It” to the game in July 2018 that appears to
be clearly inspired by the Milly Rock. For a time, players could
unlock the dance through playing or by paying cash to level up
the game’s Season 5 Battle Pass, but Swipe It can no longer be
acquired in-game. Players who unlocked it before can still use it
though.

“Fortnite: Battle Royale” is the world’s most popular game and
has a massive audience that most artists can only dream of. While
the game is free-to-play, the majority of its earnings come from
the sale of emotes and other cosmetic items in-game. The game is
currently generating more than $200 million a month in revenue
and those emotes are available to more than 200 million registered
players around the world, with no mention of the artists who
inspired them.

Read more:
Forget about paying to get better
at ‘Fortnite’ — some kids are paying for ‘Fortnite’ dance
lessons

2 Milly isn’t the only artist claiming that the game turned their
original dance into emotes for purchase in “Fortnite” without
permission or pay. Rapper BlocBoy JB criticized the use of his
“Shoot” dance in “Fortnite” and actor Donald Faison claimed that
“Fortnite” lifted a dance he performed for the TV show “Scrubs”
as the game’s default dance.

On Twitter, Chance the Rapper also suggested that Epic Games
should find a way to compensate the creators behind the dances.

2 Milly’s case isn’t the only pending lawsuit Piece Bainbridge is
bringing against Epic Games. The firm also claims that Epic used
the likeness of former NFL player Len “Skip” Hamilton to create
the character Cole Train for the Gears of War video game series.
Pierce Bainbridge partner David L. Hecht claims that in both
cases, Epic Games “misappropriated the likeness of
African-American talent.”

Experts have been skeptical of whether artists can claim
ownership over a dance, compared to the clear copyright laws that
protect music and song lyrics, but it seems that won’t stop 2
Milly from pursuing his day in court.