Take-Two has successfully defended itself against a lawsuit in which a tattoo artist claimed the publisher had used their copyright without permission when recreating the likeness of Lebron James’ tattoo in NBA 2K.
Yesterday, Friday 19th April, a jury in Ohio returned the verdict that Take-Two had not infringed on tattoo artist Jimmy Hayden’s copyright after Take-Two’s lawyers convinced the jury that – as it had secured permission to use James’ likeness – that included the basketball star’s tattoos, too.
As reported by Reuters (thanks, VGC), Take-Two’s attorney Dale Cendali claimed the case 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”.
Back in February 2016, tattoo company Solid Oak Sketches launched a multi-million dollar lawsuit against Take-Two when it claimed NBA players’ tattoos were copyrighted material. Therefore, Solid Oak argued, publishers such as Take-Two should gain permission and potentially pay for the use of the tattoos in its games.