Despite how it might appear at times, we live in a world, or maybe even a society, where laws govern just about everything we do in a meaningful way. The laws serve not only to guide us on what is and isn’t allowed but also to protect those who have certain ideas or properties that they came up with. Copyrights, trademarks, and other similar legal protections are vital so that people can’t just come in and steal them and claim that they’re their own while making lots of money off of them. Given that we’re talking about Roblox, you might think you know where this is going, but there’s a twist coming.
Yes, the video game universe is rather infamous for its various IP usage that is “questionably legal” at times, even though some usage is 100% legal due to collaborations, but what we’re talking about here has to do with social media. As noted by the BBC, Kelley Heyer is a TikTok star who came up with the famous “Apple Dance.” Dance routines are one of the reasons that TikTok took off in the first place, and when Heyer came up with the dance, millions followed her in trying to recreate it and using it for their own benefit. That’s fine, as that’s TikTok.
However, Roblox then took the dance and turned it into an emote for players to use. Now, on the surface, that doesn’t sound too bad, and it wouldn’t have been bad if it had been a free thing. Instead, they monetized it, and thus, Meyer got nothing while the company got over $100,000 from the dance animation.
But wait, there’s more! Apparently, the dev team WAS in talks with Heyer to license the dance from her, but then nothing was signed, so they truly took the dance from her:
“Kelley is an independent creator who should be compensated fairly for her work and we saw no other option than to file suit to prove that,” noted Heyer’s lawyer, Miki Anzai. “We remain willing and open to settle and hope to come to a peaceful agreement.”
Heyer said in a different interview that it was a “bummer” that this happened to her, especially since the gaming platform has about 85 million active users. It could’ve been a great place to get more attention and exposure, but instead, the team just used the dance and left her out in the cold.
Only time will tell how the lawsuit plays out.
