The issue of crediting TikTok dances has always been a thorny one — and the “Apple” dance is no exception. Last year, during the height of “brat summer,” TikTok Kelley Heyer choreographed her own dance to the addictive song’s chorus. It went so viral that she was even invited to perform the dance at a Charli XCX concert, and since then, Heyer has been reaping the rewards of her bounty.
Her dance became so popular, it ended up on gaming platforms like Fortnite and Roblox, TubeFilter reports. However, while Fortnite contacted Heyer to license the dance, Roblox effectively went ahead and added the emote without Heyer’s input or express permission.
According to Polygon, Heyer claims that Roblox was still in negotiations with her when they started selling the emote on Aug. 17. She also adds in the suit that Roblox not only “refused to finalize a license agreement” with her, but also refused to pay her.
The suit claims that before the emote was taken down, it was purchased over 60,000 times, making at least $123,000 in revenue. Money that Heyer says is partly hers.
In a statement to Polygon, Miki Anzai, Heyer’s attorney, said: “Roblox moved forward using Kelley’s IP without a signed agreement. 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. We remain willing and open to settle and hope to come to a peaceful agreement.”
Meanwhile, a Roblox spokesperson told the outlet: “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. Roblox is confident in its position and the propriety of its dealings in this matter and looks forward to responding in court.”
