Kelley Heyer, creator of Tiktok content, sued the video game Roblox using dance to Charli XCX’s “Apple” without permission.
Heyer posted a viral dance in June 2024. The dance was extremely popular and Charli XCX incorporated it into her live show and invited Heyer to perform Dance at her show in New York City.
Fortnite and Roblox are two blockbuster games that are popular among children, each incorporating dance into the game, allowing players to purchase dance “Emotes” for avatar performances. However, Fortnite has obtained permission from Heyer to obtain a choreography license, but she claims that Roblox did not sign an agreement to do so.
“Roblox moved forward using Kelly’s IP without a signed contract. Kelly is an independent creator and should be fairly compensated for her work, and had no choice but to file a lawsuit to prove it.” “We hope to settle and reach a peaceful agreement.”
According to Polygon, Heyer estimates that Roblox won over $123,000 by selling over 60,000 emotions from the “Apple” dance.
“As a platform powered by a community of creators, Roblox takes intellectual property protection very seriously and is committed to protecting the intellectual property rights of independent developers and creators to brands and artists both inside and outside the platform,” Roblox said in a statement.