Jordan Erica Webber looks at why a rapper, an actor and a teenage viral sensation have launched lawsuits against Epic Games for allegedly making money off their dance moves

Fortnite Battle Royale has been a runaway success, so much so that it has brought in more than $1bn (£780m), and has broken into mainstream culture in a way few video games do. But towards the end of 2018, the game became the subject of some controversy as people started to sue its creator, Epic Games, for copyright infringement.

The rapper 2 Milly, the actor Alfonso Ribeiro and the family of Russell Horning, otherwise known as the Backpack Kid, are suing the company for allegedly copying what they say are their dance creations, and not paying them to do so.

Jordan Erica Webber talks to Dr Barbara Lauriat of the Dickson Poon School of Law at King’s College London about why we should look to the Elizabethan era to learn more about intellectual property law. She also chats to the Guardian’s former Games editor Keith Stuart about what is happening with the lawsuits. The lawyer Alex Tutty then explains why it is unlikely to be an open-and-shut case.