Alfonso Ribeiro has dropped his lawsuit against the creators of the video game “Fortnite” over its use of the “Carlton” dance.
The “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” star lost an attempt to claim ownership over the famous dance last month and now his lawyers have filed documents voluntarily dismissing the suit against North Carolina-based Epic Games.
Ribeiro had previously dropped a similar suit against Take-Two Interactive, makers of the video game NBA2K16, which the actor also claimed stole his dance moves without permission.
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The former “Dancing With The Stars” champion had tried to register his signature dance with the U.S. Copyright Office, but according to the Hollywood Reporter, the registration was denied.
A supervisory registration specialist in the Office’s Performing Arts division wrote to Ribeiro’s attorney explaining their assessment.
“The dancer sways their hips as they step from side to side, while swinging their arms in an exaggerated manner,” the specialist wrote. “In the second dance step, the dancer takes two steps to each side while opening and closing their legs and their arms in unison. In the final step, the dancer’s feet are still and they lower one hand from above their head to the middle of their chest while fluttering their fingers. The combination of these three dance steps is a simple routine that is not registrable as a choreographic work.”
Ribeiro’s claim of ownership over the dance was key to the lawsuit against video game publisher Take-Two Interactive, which featured the dance in the popular video game Fortnite.
