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Defense Counsel Discuss Outcome in Dance Steps Case
Kirkland & Ellis New York-based partners Dale Cendali, Joshua Simmons and Shanti Sadtler Conway have notched a win in cutting-edge litigation that questions the protectability of dance steps, what constitutes choreography and the relationship between copyright, and right of publicity and trademark law.
Representing video game makers Epic Games and Take-Two Interactive, the Kirkland trio fended off a series of 10 lawsuits, including the most recent — a claim by University of Maryland basketball players Jaylen Brantley and Jared Nickens, who asserted that the "Running Man" emote in Epic's Fortnite video game copied their "Running Man" dance. Brantley v. Epic Games Inc., 8:19-cv-594 (D.Md. 2020).
Cendali, Simmons and Sadtler Conway discussed their perspectives with Jenna Greene, editor of The Litigation Daily, an ALM sibling publication of Entertainment Law & Finance.
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