Last month, Activision sued content creator Anthony Fantano for asking for too much money for using his voice in TikTok video promoting Crash Bandicoot sneakers while using the character. Fantano sent Activision a cease and desist letter for using his audio clip. Activision filed a lawsuit against Fantano for allegedly “misusing” IP laws by demanding payment. Now, Activision has dropped its suit against him.
This all started when Fantano shouted “it’s enough slices” in a TikTok video duet involving another previously uploaded clip by a different user. The video had someone cutting a pizza into smaller slices. The clip became a meme which has been reused and remixed numerous times over the past two years.
After Activision used the “it’s enough slices” audio in its own TikTok video promoting Crash Bandicoot sneakers, Fantano contacted them and threatened to sue sending a cease and desist letter and demanded a settlement.
Activision responded, denying that they did anything wrong. They removed the video “to avoid litigation, and without any admission of liability.” Activision also noted that TikTok’s terms of service say that users who upload videos give third parties the right to “modify, adapt, reproduce, [or] make derivative works” of their content.” Furthermore, Activision said that they took the audio of Fantano from a list of sounds that the TikTok app says was cleared for market use.
Then, a court filing reveals that Activision has dropped its lawsuit. “Plaintiff Activision Publishing, Inc. hereby dismisses this entire action, including, without limitation, all claims alleged therein, with prejudice,” it stated. An Activision rep declined to comment on the dismissal.
Fantano has yet to comment and it’s unclear if Fantano’s suit is still ongoing.