Activision drops lawsuit against TikTok user

Activision is no longer suing a music critic over the rights to use a sample of his voice from a viral TikTok clip in a promotional video.

Driving the news: The gaming giant withdrew the unusual suit against Anthony Fantano last week, according to a court filing.

• "Plaintiff Activision Publishing, Inc. hereby dismisses this entire action, including, without limitation, all claims alleged therein, with prejudice," it stated.
• A rep for the game company declined to comment on the dismissal.

Between the lines: Activision had sued Fantano in July, accusing the critic of asking for an "extortionate" amount of money for using his voice in a TikTok video of its own to promote its gaming character Crash Bandicoot.

• In April 2021, Fantano had created a TikTok video of himself reacting to the prolific slicing of a pizza. His reaction, segueing from fascination to alarm, went viral.
• Activision would later claim Fantano's clip was listed by TikTok as cleared for commercial use. It also argued that users who signed on to TikTok agreed to allow others to remix their contributions.

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