 Rapper 2 Milly is suing the maker of Fortnite, Epic Games, for selling his signature “Milly Rock” dance as an emote called “Swipe It.” Pierce Bainbridge, the law firm representing 2 Milly, filed the complaint in the Central District Court of California today, accusing Epic of, among other things, copyright infringement, and exploiting African American talent for profit in the game. 2 Milly told Kotaku in an email at the time that he felt like his dance had been stolen and that he wished Epic had approached him about using the dance before it was added to Fortnite. Horning is suing for unspecified damages and wants Fortnite, as well as other companies, including 2K Sports, the maker of NBA 2K, to refrain from using his moves without permission. “I was never compensated by Epic Games for their use of the ‘Milly Rock,’” 2 Milly said in a press release. “They never even asked for my permission,” he said. I am thrilled to have David Hecht and his team at Pierce Bainbridge representing me to help right this wrong.” 
 
 It’s unclear whether today’s lawsuit will go anywhere, but if it does it could have big consequences not just for Fortnite, which has been copying and selling dance moves from lots of artists, but other games that also sell dance emotes. It's difficult to copyright a dance move, according to copyright lawyer Eric Norton, who says that "dance moves themselves are not trademarkable because they are not used to identify where goods or services originate, unlike a logo, slogan, or brand name." “This isn’t the first time that Epic Games has brazenly misappropriated the likeness of African-American talent. At a Scrubs reunion panel during the Vulture Festival last month, actor Donald Faison, who played Turk on the show, told the audience that he never got any money from Epic for his “Poison” dance from the show which ended up becoming Fortnite’s default dance emote. Our client Lenwood ‘Skip’ Hamilton is pursuing similar claims against Epic for use of his likeness in the popular ‘Cole Train’ character in the ‘Gears of War’ video game franchise,” said David L. Hecht, partner at Pierce Bainbridge. Milly says he has plans to sue Epic and has already lawyered up.
– Characters in the wildly popular video game Fortnite can snag celebratory emotes—read dances—based on real moves. There's The Floss, The Worm, and the Electro Shuffle. There's the Turk Dance as featured on Scrubs and this Seinfeld scene. And, to 2 Milly's dismay, his Milly Rock dance, dubbed "Swipe It" within the game. The rapper, real name Terrence Ferguson, says maker Epic Games included his signature move in Fortnite, where it can be bought for $5, without his permission and without offering compensation, in a copyright infringement lawsuit filed Wednesday in California, per Variety and the CBC. His lawyer tells Kotaku race is a factor, noting it appears "they believe that they can railroad African-American talent because they doubt that there will be any legal consequence," though the Kotaku points out non-African-Americans could lob similar accusations. The CBC notes that while Fornite is free to download, in-game purchases of things like emotes have reeled in more than $1 billion for Epic Games since 2017 in the US alone. While 2 Milly registered the Milly Rock with the Copyright Office on Dec. 4, a lawyer explains it's typically the name of a dance move that's trademarked, rather than the move itself. The CBC's take: It was a "smart move" for Epic to tie its brand to the most viral of moves, but it comes at a cost for the originator: "If you weren't already following rap or internet culture, it would be easy to assume the dance originated in Fortnite."