Activision Sues TikTok Creator After Using Viral Clip In Crash Bandicoot Ad
In 2021, Anthony Fantano posted a clip to TikTok where he watched someone cut a pizza into too many pieces, yelling "It's enough slices!" The clip went so viral it became a popular internet meme and TikTok sound byte.
Activision used the sound in a Crash Bandicoot sneakers video in June and Fantano sent a letter demanding the video be taken down. Activision complied, but Fantano allegedly said that deleting the video was not enough and demanded a six-figure payout for "substantial" monetary damages. Activision sued the TikToker in response.
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According to Activision, "hundreds of thousands" of other TikTok users implemented the clip's audio into their own videos, which it claims Fantano celebrated. It also claims that the use of Fantano's audio is protected by TikTok's terms of service (giving "third-parties" the right to "modify, adapt, reproduce, [or] make derivative works") and that it pulled the audio from a list of sounds TikTok flagged as clear for commercial use.
Fantano claims it represents a "false endorsement" of the product and could lead viewers to believe that he approved of the sound's use, violating the 1946 Lanham Act (as reported by IGN).
According to the suit, Fantano claims "he had reached settlements with other entities based on a similar use" and that these "entities had paid a similar sum to avoid the expense of litigation". Activision called the six-figure fee an "extortionate" price to avoid being sued, so it filed its own lawsuit in a California federal court on Monday.
The purpose of Activision's lawsuit is to acquire a court statement confirming that it is not violating the Lanham Act or Fantano's rights of
Read more on thegamer.com
