Moth Meme Creator Thinks Epic Games Are Ripping Him Off

2018 has seen a bumper crop of memes, with creators working overtime to keep the internet community awash with the newest and freshest pics to stave away the eternal march into oblivion. That said, sometimes the spread of memes travels further than the intentions of the original creator, which raises an interesting question: much like books, and movies, how much control over a meme does the creator have once it’s out in the public?

Fortnite moth (self.legaladvice) pic.twitter.com/XR34HCHvkn

— r/LegalAdvice.txt (@legaladvice_txt) November 30, 2018

Reddit user No_Reason27 originally posted a picture of a moth sitting at his window, clearly wanting to come inside and enjoy the light (as moths are want to do). The close-up nature of the picture, and the absurdity that followed as users postulated how the moth might request entry into his home to enjoy the light, sparked a wave of memes that spread far and wide.

Close up of moth outside my window from r/creepy

While this is just one of the many memes to circulate the world this year, the spread has even reached possibly the most popular game out there right now, with a Moth character skin and accompanying harvesting tool and glider making their way into Fortnite.

It’s pretty safe to assume that u/No-Reason27 isn’t likely to find much success in a court of law, however it does raise an interesting question about the ability for games such as Fortnite to turn user created content into products that they can sell. We’ve seen that Epic Games is more than willing to turn fan concepts into actual outfits, but where is the line when it comes to giving credit to the original creators.

Rapper 2 Milly is seeking legal action against the company for their usage of the “Milly Rock” in an emote, and Donald Faison, star of TV show ‘Scrubs’, has publicly told fans at a recent public appearance asking to see his moves: “If you want to see it, you can play Fortnite, because they jacked that s***!”

Whether or not Epic Games is “stealing” this content is still clearly up for debate, however with the popularity of the game only increasing, and their willingness to include pop culture references, we’re probably not going to see a resolution anytime soon.