WASHINGTON — Alfonso Ribeiro's copyright claims for the famous 'Carlton dance' have been denied by the United States Copyright Office, reports The New York Times. <br /><br />In December, Alfonso Ribeiro, famous for playing Carlton Banks in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, filed a lawsuit against Take-Two Interactive's NBA 2K18 and Epic Games' Fortnite for using his character's signature dance move.<br /><br />The U.S. Copyright Office has officially denied his copyright claims. The ruling was filed in one of Ribeiro's two lawsuits. Turns out that, just like a short phrase or word, a simple dance move cannot be copyrighted, no matter how famous it is.<br /><br />A copyright registration supervisor put it very bluntly saying that, "the combination of these three dance steps is a simple routine that is not registrable as a choreographic work." <br /><br />However, it's important to note that a court is not obligated to follow the copyright office's determination, but it will likely take it into consideration.<br /><br />Ribeiro's lawyer, David L. Hecht, hasn't given up yet. According to him, "It's the same as when you combine notes in a musical composition," and, as such, they should be eligible to have copyright protection under the law. <br /><br />Hecht also represents rapper 2 Milly and Russell Horning, better known as 'Back-pack Kid'. Both have also filed similar lawsuits for their own dances being featured in Fortnite.<br /><br />2 Milly's request was also rejected but surprisingly, Horning was able to register a variation of his dance. Hecht said he would ask the copyright office reconsider 2 Milly's and Ribeiro's requests.
