TikTok user threatens Activision Blizzard, gets sued in return
Music reviewer and TikTok goofball Anthony Fantano has tried to sue Activision Blizzard, and the company has responded by suing him. Yikes.
27th Jul 2023 17:15
Activision Blizzard | YouTube - TheNeedleDrop
TikTok user threatens Activision Blizzard, gets sued in return
Music reviewer and TikTok goofball Anthony Fantano has tried to sue Activision Blizzard, and the company has responded by suing him. Yikes.
27th Jul 2023 17:15
Activision Blizzard | YouTube - TheNeedleDrop
At this stage, it's safe to say that we all know more about the legalities of the video game world than we were prepared to learn - especially when it comes to Activision.
Activision Blizzard's rescue comes courtesy of Xbox but has been a long and drawn-out process. It's left fans on both sides of the argument for or against exhausted by constant reports, pleas, and takedowns. Now it looks like its legal team is having too much fun.
TheNeedleDrop threatens to sue Activision
We hope music reviews make enough to pay some good lawyers. Anthony Fantano of TheNeedleDrop on YouTube is one of the internet's busiest music fans but has found himself in hot water with Activision Blizzard. It comes after threatening to sue the publisher for using his TikTok sound.
According to the fresh lawsuit, Fantano contacted Activision Blizzard, threatening to sue it for using his "too many slices" viral TikTok sound to promote Crash Bandicoot. He asked for the video to be pulled from TikTok and demanded a six-figure sum in damages.
His lawyer then contacted Activision Blizzard again, even after the company agreed to take the video down. It's a bold strategy to take, and Activision Blizzard is biting back.
Activision is suing TheNeedleDrop for trying to sue them
The bear has officially been poked. Activision Blizzard has now come forward with its own lawsuit, seeking a jury trial and "declatory relief." It's basically seeking word from Fantano that there is no further problem and that his lawsuit can be dropped.
The Crash overlord also aruges that TikTok's own terms of service say anyone who uploads a video gives foregoes the right to "modify, adapt, reproduce, [or] make derivative works" of it. It also maintains that Fantano's audio comes from a TikTok list of sounds marked clear for commercial use.
Activision Blizzard probably has less to go on than Fantano does, but chances are, it's got a whole team of lawyers on the case. Who knows where this lawsuit will go, but when it comes to the best teeth in the game, it's probably not good news. This is what happens when you lowball the internet's favourite Kanye West record.
About The Author
Joseph Kime
Joseph Kime is the Senior Trending News Journalist for GGRecon from Devon, UK. Before graduating from MarJon University with a degree in Journalism, he started writing music reviews for his own website before writing for the likes of FANDOM, Zavvi and The Digital Fix. He is host of the Big Screen Book Club podcast, and author of Building A Universe, a book that chronicles the history of superhero movies. His favourite games include DOOM (2016), Celeste and Pokemon Emerald.
