Activision Takes Legal Action Against TikTok Personality

In a recent development, dated August 15, 2023, Activision Blizzard has decided to drop its lawsuit. The original story, dated July 28, 2023, revolves around Activision seeking a declaratory judgment against a popular TikTok personality who had threatened to sue the company for using an audio clip without obtaining prior consent. According to a complaint filed with the Los Angeles Federal Court on July 24, Activision accused music critic Anthony 'The Needle Drop' Fantano of devising a scheme to extort money from users by threatening lawsuits over the alleged unauthorized use of a viral audio clip that was initially uploaded in April 2021. The audio clip in question features Fantano reacting to a pizza being sliced multiple times before exclaiming, 'It's enough slices!' In June 2023, Activision incorporated this clip into promotional materials for the Crash Bandicoot series, prompting Fantano to issue a cease-and-desist letter alleging that the video falsely implied his endorsement of Activision and that the company had used the clip without permission. However, Activision countered that since Fantano had opted to include the clip in TikTok's commercial sounds library, brands were legally permitted to use it for promotional purposes without needing consent. Following Fantano's threat of legal action, Activision removed the video earlier this month. Despite this, Activision claimed that the removal was insufficient for Fantano, who allegedly believed he was entitled to substantial damages and would only settle the claims for a six-figure sum. The company argued that this dispute serves as a prime example of how intellectual property laws can be misused to extract unfair payments from social media network users, such as those on TikTok.