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Actor Alfonso Ribeiro has hit a roadblock in his lawsuit against Epic Games over Fortnite's use of the infamous Carlton dance from the Fresh Prince of Bel Air.
Things have started to turn in favour of the developer after Ribeiro has been denied the copyright for the Carlton dance, with the Hollywood Reporter noting that the US Copyright Office has ruled that the dance is too simple to justify its protection by law.
A letter uploaded to the site reveals a number of details on the case, specifically how Congress notes that the current copyright law '[does not] protect all forms of dance or movement,' and that 'choreographic works do not include social dance steps and simple routines.'
The Carlton is described as 'a simple dance routine' and as such is 'not registrable as a choreographic work.'
It even scrutinizes the routine itself, noting how you can effectively break it down into three simple movements:
'The combination of these three dance steps is a simple routine that is not registrable as a choreographic work,' wrote the Office. 'Accordingly, your application for registration is refused.'
It's worth remembering that Ribeiro didn't stop at Epic Games, either. The actor also tried his luck with Take-Two, as NBA 2K19 included a dance similar to the Carlton, too.
