Last year, Alfonso Ribeiro filed a lawsuit against Fortnite creators Epic Games for using his “Carlton” dance made popular on the hit ’90s sitcom “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” without permission.
Now, just one month after being denied a copyright claim on the dance, Ribeiro is dropping the lawsuit altogether.
USA Today reports, Ribeiro’s lawyers have filed documents in Los Angeles on Thursday (Mar. 7) in federal court stating that he’s voluntarily dismissing the suit against North Carolina-based gaming company. This comes after Ribeiro dropped a similar suit against Take-Two Interactive, creators of the basketball video game series, NBA 2K.
Saskia Florence, of the US Copyright Office’s Performing Arts Division, said that the dance could not be registered because it was a “simple dance routine.”
“The dancer sways their hips as they step from side to side, while swinging their arms in an exaggerated manner,” Florence said in the denial letter sent to Ribeiro’s attorney. “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 letter continued. “The combination of these three dance steps is a simple routine that is not registerable as a choreographic work.”
Attorneys for Ribeiro plan to refile both lawsuits.
Ribeiro is part of a long list of celebrities and creators suing Epic Games for intellectual property theft. In December 2018, 2 Milly (Milly Rock), Backpack Kid (The Floss), and BlocBoy JB (Shoot) among others have all filed lawsuits against the gaming giant. At the end of February, the company was hit with another lawsuit after two former players from the University of Maryland men’s basketball claim they stole their “Running Man” dance.