Kelley Heyer, the choreographer of Apple’s viral dance, has sued Roblox. She alleges that the company intentionally made millions of dollars off of her work without her consent. The gaming platform allegedly pulled in $123,000 by selling the Apple dance as an “emote.” At the same time, Heyer’s legal team argues that Roblox didn’t have a signed contract allowing them to use her choreography.
This performance caught the eye of Heyer to start discussions with Roblox to enter a licensing agreement. This agreement focused on the Apple shuffle, made famous by Charli XCX’s smash, “Fancy.” Her catchy song went viral, making its way smashingly onto XCX’s award-winning album cut, Brat. The Apple dance went viral after celebrity influencers made it their own in their TikTok dances. So many notable stars like Kylie Jenner, Daisy Edgar-Jones, and Charli XCX contributed to it going viral.
Smartly, Roblox has garnered a great pre-teen user base, boasting 80 million daily active players. It further crushes the Nintendo Switch and Sony PlayStation combined in monthly users. The platform has done incredible work and has won stimulating partnerships. One of these exciting collaborations is with Charli XCX, whose music and likeness will be featured in an in-game concert as part of the Dress to Impress experience.
Now, even with the platform’s continuing growth, Kelley Heyer’s legal team is arguing that her creative contributions must be respected and rewarded accordingly.
“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,” – Miki Anzai, Heyer’s attorney.
In a statement responding to the lawsuit, Roblox reiterated its duty to protect IP rights. A spokesperson stated, “As a platform powered by a community of creators, Roblox takes the protection of intellectual property very seriously and is committed to protecting intellectual property rights of independent developers and creators to brands and artists both on and off the platform.”
While the announcement took many by surprise, the spokesperson said it had been confident about the case Roblox was preparing against Apple. They are just as excited to be fighting the issue in court.
“Roblox is confident in its position and the propriety of its dealings in this matter and looks forward to responding in court,” – A Roblox spokesperson.
Anzai was quick to stress that they were eager to find a friendly resolution.
“And that sort of bums me out a little bit,” – Kelley Heyer.
Despite the ongoing litigation, Anzai emphasized their willingness to reach an amicable resolution.
“We remain willing and open to settle and hope to come to a peaceful agreement,” – Miki Anzai.
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