Alfonso Ribeiro's attempt to copyright his iconic dance from The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air is officially a dud, TMZ reports. Alfonso's attorney received news from a registration specialist for the U.S. Copyright Office who said that the actor's attempt to lock in the copyright for the dance he popularized on the 90s sitcom has been denied. An expert claimed that the dance is nothing other than a "simple dance routine."
"The combination of these three dance steps is a simple routine that is not registrable as a choreographic work," an expert said.
This will undoubtedly have an impact on his lawsuit against the Fortnite creators. Ribeiro sued the creators of Fortnite last year for using his famous Carlton Dance. However, he hadn't filed for a copyright for the dance until he filed his suit.
The lawyers for NBA 2K are trying to have the suit dismissed since he didn't copyright the dance in the 27 years since its debut on Fresh Prince. Following his suit, TMZ dug up a 2012 interview where the actor admitted that he "stole" the dance.
"On the Fresh Prince, they basically had a script that said, you know, Carlton dances and I said, 'Alright, well how would Carlton dance? You know what, I'mma steal it,'" he said. "I stole it from Courtney Cox and Eddie Murphy." Adding, "It's a combo of all of that with a little bit of me mixed in."
Ribeiro's suits are still active but the copyright will undoubtedly have an impact on his case.
