Take-Two has won a lawsuit that was filed against the company related to its NBA 2K game over LeBron James' tattoos.
On Apr. 19, 2024, a jury in Ohio returned the verdict that Take-Two had not infringed on tattoo artist Jimmy Hayden's copyright. This was after the company's lawyers convinced jurors that Take-Two had secured permission to use James' likeness, including his tattoos, in the game.
Take-Two Wins NBA 2K Tattoo Lawsuit
(Photo : Visual Concepts, 2K, Take-Two / Screenshot taken from Steam)
The company's attorney, Dale Cendali, claimed that the case against Take-Two was a victory for "anyone who has ever gotten a tattoo and might have otherwise worried about their freedom to share their bodies with their tattoos."
In February 2016, Solid Oak Sketches, a tattoo company, launched a multi-million dollar lawsuit against Take-Two. In it, it claimed that NBA players' tattoos were copyrighted material and argued that publishers should gain permission and potentially pay for the use of the tattoos in their games, according to Eurogamer.
The tattoo company had also previously acquired the rights to the tattoo designs of NBA legends Kobe Bryant, James, and Eric Bledsoe. The video game company argued that this was a deliberate move to then get more money from them, which is a case that Take-Two also won.
In 2012, one artist also filed a lawsuit against THQ for including an "exact replica" of a lion that he tattooed on a UFC fighter. That particular tattoo appears on the midriff of UFC's Carlos Condit in UFC Undisputed 3.
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The tattoo artist had copyright protection for the artwork that he created and claimed that THQ did not ask him for permission to use it. The case itself was later settled outside of the court later on.
The latest case comes as a federal jury in Illinois previously awarded a tattoo artist $3,750 in damages after it decided that the use of their tattoos on athletes in versions of the WWE 2K games did not constitute fair use, said Video Games Chronicles.
Alleged Copyright Infringement
Despite the case's final amount being considered to be relatively small, it had set a potential precedent for other tattoo artists to make similar claims against other companies. This is particularly true if their designs are replicated on athletes inside video games.
Hayden initially filed the lawsuit against Take-Two over six tattoos that he created for the basketball superstar. However, United States District Judge Christopher Boyko ruled against the artist in early 2024.
He said that the tattoo artist could only sue over two of the six tattoos, a tattoo of stars and another of James' mother's name, Gloria. The jury trial for the latest case started on Monday with opening arguments.
Hayden's attorney, Todd Tucker, said that the video game company "painstakingly copied" his client's work for the NBA 2K series. Jurors were also shown clips of NBA 2K games that featured James.
The basketball star himself did not show up to court but Take-Two's lawyers intended to play his recorded deposition for the jury during the trial. Court documents also showed that the video game company also called on game designer and Play Anything author Ian Bogost as a witness, according to Polygon.
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