A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit made by two former Maryland men’s basketball players that alleges the popular videogame ‘Fortnite’ misused the ‘running man challenge’ dance they helped amplify.

Details of the dismissal were obtained by the Baltimore Sun.

The two players Jared Nickens and Jaylen Brantley were on the Terrapins between 2014 and 2018, mostly serving in reserve roles. Nickens and Brantley gained internet fame by springboarding a social media craze known as the ‘running man challenge’ in 2016.

They appeared on the Ellen DeGeneres Show once with the two then-high school creators of the dance later that year.

[embedded content]

Fortnite took the dance moves and incorporated it into their game. The running man challenge was a sold element in the videogame to give users the option for their character to have the dance moves. It can be seen in the video below.

[embedded content]

The pair claim that Fortnite digitally copied the dance move and filled suits for invasion of privacy, unfair competition and unjust enrichment within the Copyright Act.

As noted in the Sun, the judge said the plaintiffs’ claim against the game is “qualitatively different” than the rights protected by the Copyright Act.

“Plaintiffs seek to place the same square peg into eight round holes in search of a cause of action against Epic Games for its use of the Running Man dance in its game Fortnite. But Plaintiffs’ claims that Epic Games copied the dance do not support any of their theories,” the judge wrote in his decision.

Brantley and Nickens were seeking $5 million in damages.

Stay connected to the Capitals and Wizards with the MyTeams app. Click here to download for comprehensive coverage of your teams.

MORE NCAA NEWS:

Judge dismisses former Maryland basketball players Fortnite lawsuit over ‘running man challenge’ originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington