Imposter attempts to shut down Fortnite dance lawsuits with phony email
Epic Games / Daily Post NigeriaAn imposter, purporting to be the attorney in charge of the Fortnite dance lawsuits, has emailed the US Copyright Office in a bid to close the case.
Fortnite developers Epic Games have been hit with a slew of lawsuits from a number of notable personalities, who feel that their dances were used by the company without credit as purchasable, in-game emotes.
Seemingly in response to these lawsuits, an email was sent to the U.S. Copyright Office under the name of lead attorney David Hecht, which asked to dismiss any current claims on the dance moves used in the game.
The hacker claimed to be Pierce Bainbridge attourney David Hecht, and asked the U.S. Copyright Office to dismiss any claims on dances used in Fortnite.The email described the actions of Hecht’s clients as “reckless and baseless,” arguing that the claims in question contained “very false information.”
“Recently, I noticed that my clients and I have been filing copyright claims regarding dance moves,” the email reads. “…I would like for our copyright claims to be terminated/dismissed because they were false/baseless.”
BlocBoy JB is just one of the many celebs suing Epic Games, who feels that the company used his ‘Shoot’ dance without credit.The impersonator didn’t stop there – according to Pierce Bainbridge, a second email was sent to the Office under Hecht’s name on February 19, which was forwarded to the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Hecht himself argued against the impostor’s claims, stating that Bainbridge’s lawsuits are the “opposite of ‘reckless and baseless,’ as suggested by the hacker.”
Those suing Epic Games include the likes of American rappers BlocBoy JB and 2 Milly, ‘Fresh Prince’ star Alfonso Ribeiro, and internet personalities ‘Backpack Kid’ and ‘Orange Shirt Kid.’
However, it appears that Ribeiro’s claim on his famous ‘Carlton’ dance ultimately fell through, as a statement from the U.S. Copyright Office claimed that the routine is “not registrable as a choreographic work.”