Epic Games is under fire once more for allegedly using a Fortnite dance emote without proper permission. The latest lawsuit claims the “Touching the Sky” emote copies choreographer Felix Burgos’ registered choreography from a 2024 music video.
Burgos’ dance was first featured in Rauw Alejandro’s Touching the Sky music video, which was uploaded in May 2024. Epic then added the emote to Fortnite’s Icon Series in February 2025. Burgos’ lawyer shared a video showing how closely the emote matches the original choreography, and yeah, it looks pretty much the same.
Watch the comparison here:
The lawsuit bluntly calls Epic’s actions a “brazen infringement” of Burgos’ registered choreography. Back in 2018 and 2019, Epic faced several lawsuits over Fortnite emotes, but many were dismissed due to legal technicalities. Those earlier cases, however, raised awareness about choreography copyright, prompting some choreographers to register their work and pushing Epic to license some dances properly. But not all, apparently.
According to the suit, Epic tends to offer young or less experienced artists very low payments for licensing, often ignoring more established choreographers like Burgos entirely. He claims Epic never even approached him about licensing his choreography.
If this sounds familiar, it’s because a similar lawsuit hit Epic in 2022 over the “It’s Complicated” emote. That case was dismissed after a judge ruled that a few seconds of dance moves didn’t qualify for copyright protection. But in a twist, the Ninth Circuit overturned that dismissal in November 2023, sending the case back for further review. Epic then settled with the “It’s Complicated” choreographer in early 2024.
This new lawsuit seems to ride on that court decision. Burgos’ lawyer, David Hecht, also represented the “It’s Complicated” choreographer, which probably means Epic is in a tough spot here. Maybe Epic will start being more careful about licensing dances, or maybe more lawsuits will follow. What do you think? Should choreographers have more control over their moves?
