Activision Blizzard Drops Weapons After Taking Legal Action Against a Popular YouTuber and TikTok Creator

Activision Blizzard is hitting the headlines again. But this time certainly not for their $69 billion deal with Microsoft. This famous developer of the Call of Duty franchise, earlier this year filed a lawsuit against the popular streamer Anthony Fantano, also known as TheNeedle Tok on TikTok. The collision between Fantano and Activision Blizzard happened due to Fantano’s previous legal action against the company.

However, Activision Blizzard’s lawsuit couldn’t hold its ground and the company had to take it down. While many think it as a victory of a streamer against a big organization, here are all the details of the dispute. 

The fire that sparked the debate between Activision Blizzard and Anthony Fantano

Fantano reacted to a stream where a person was spotted cutting a slice of a pizza. However, the slices were visibly very small, which made Fantano exclaim- “it’s enough slices.” However, Fantano’s comment didn’t just remain an exclamation but achieved the title of a meme. Many streamers used, repurposed, or remixed this clip in their videos. Recently, Activision Blizzard used Fantano’s clip on its Crash Bandicoot sneakers’ TikTok advertisement. After this advertisement was aired Fantano wrote a letter to Activision. He demanded that the advertisement be taken off the platform. Furthermore, Fantano demanded a settlement from the company.

 

Activision denied Fantano’s allegation. This company stated that earlier this streamer enjoyed his popularity when people and organizations used this clip for their purposes. In fact, Activision further stepped in to sue Fantano stating TikTok’s third-party rights. In this case, Activision said that TikTok grants permission to third parties to adapt, reuse or improvise any content. But the content has to be uploaded by its users. Further Activision confirmed that the clip belonged to TikTok’s collection of approved audios. 

Result of this dispute

Activision Blizzard took down its sneaker advertisement featuring Anthony Fantano’s clip to avoid any further legal problems. This company also dropped the lawsuit it filed against Anthony Fantano. Activision’s statement on the case said- “Plaintiff Activision Publishing, Inc. hereby dismisses this entire action, including, without limitation, all claims alleged therein, with prejudice.” Despite Activision taking down its case, Anthony Fantano is currently progressing with his lawsuit against the Call of Duty creator. 

Read more: Activision Blizzard Will Offer $6 Million to the Teams That Decide to Not Renew Their Agreements With the Overwatch League

Amid the rumors, Anthony Fantano has remained tight-lipped about this entire issue with Activision Blizzard. While Fantano fans seemed overjoyed with the results, Activision is definitely concentrating on their future projects minutely. What do you think?

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