3 Count: It’s Not Complicated

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1: Fortnite ‘It’s Complicated’ Copyright Lawsuit Dismissed

First off today, Ian Boudreau at PCGamesN reports that Fortnite developer Epic Games has emerged victorious in a lawsuit over a dance emote featured in the game itself.

The lawsuit was filed by choreographer Kyle Hanagami, who claimed that the Fortnite emote entitled It’s Complicated was an infringement of a routine he created for the Charlie Puth song How Long. However, though most agreed the two routines appeared to be similar, a judge has dismissed Hanagami’s lawsuit claiming that the two works are not similar enough to be a copyright infringement.

This is far from the first lawsuit that Epic has faced regarding dance moves in Fortnite. Other lawsuits have featured artists including 2 Milly, Alfonso Riberio and the “Orange Shirt Kid”. However, many of those lawsuits were dropped in 2019 due to a lack of copyright registration.

2: YouTube Holds Licenses For Copyright Lawsuit Plaintiff’s “Entire Back Catalog”

Next up today, Andy Maxwell at Torrentfreak writes that YouTube has said it will seek summary judgment in its lawsuit against Maria Schneider claiming that her publisher has granted the company a blanket license covering her entire back catalog of music.

Schneider filed the lawsuit claiming that YouTube has failed to take appropriate action against infringers on their service and that they unfairly restricted access to Content ID and other copyright enforcement tools. However, YouTube is now claiming that they received a license to all of Schneider’s back catalog through Modern Works Publishing, Schneider’s publisher.

However, Schneider says that the license to Modern Works Publishing is invalid due to a lack of permission from her. However, YouTube says that such consent is not necessary as the publisher is the only entity responsible for licensing her work. Beyond that, YouTube also claims Schneider did not act quickly enough on her claims and that she previously agreed to the YouTube terms of service, which gives YouTube “extensive rights” to her content.

3: Rockstar Copyright Strikes Could Point To Coming GTA 6 Reveal

Finally today, Fletcher Varnson at Screen Rant reports that Rockstar Games has sent out a “flurry” of copyright notices regarding their game series Grand Theft Auto. However, this has led many to speculate that the company is preparing to make an announcement about Grand Theft Auto 6, which would be the newest game in the long-running series.

According to observers, Rockstar took similar steps in 2021 ahead of the release of GTA: The Trilogy. Then, they were targeting modders of GTA 3 and 4, and now they are targeting modders of GTA 5 as well as filing strikes against creators of the original GTA games.

It is widely believed that Rockstar uses this tactic to take down videos that might compete with or detract from their announcements. An announcement on GTA 6 is one of the most anticipated in announcements in gaming,

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