Activision Blizzard has decided to withdraw its legal complaint against popular content creator Anthony Fantano, also known as ‘TheNeedleTok’ on TikTok. The publisher took legal action earlier this year after Fantano threatened to sue them for using audio from one of his videos without permission.
The video in question was a TikTok ‘duet’ that featured a clip of Fantano watching someone cut a pizza into progressively smaller slices, leading him to exclaim, ‘it’s enough slices.’ This clip went viral and became a meme, with various remixes and reuse over the past two years. Activision argued that Fantano celebrated the clip’s popularity.
However, when Activision used the ‘it’s enough slices’ audio in their own TikTok video to promote Crash Bandicoot sneakers, Fantano contacted them and threatened legal action. Activision alleged that Fantano sent a letter demanding the video’s removal and a settlement. Although denying any wrongdoing, Activision decided to remove the video ‘to avoid litigation, and without any admission of liability.’
Initially, Activision justified its use of the audio by referring to TikTok’s terms of service, which grant permission to third parties to modify and adapt user-uploaded content. Additionally, they claimed to have taken Fantano’s audio from a list of cleared sounds for commercial use on the TikTok app.
However, Axios recently reported that Activision Blizzard has since dropped the lawsuit. In a statement, Activision dismissed the entire action, including all claims, with prejudice.
As of now, Fantano has not commented on the matter, and it remains uncertain whether his own legal action is still ongoing.
