And he’s the one who lost, because he initiated the lawsuit against 2K, a subsidiary of Take-Two, so not only will he get damages, but he’ll also have to pay for it…

On Friday, Take-Two successfully convinced a jury in the state of Ohio that it had an implied license to use James Lebron’s tattoos, as it had the right to do so under an agreement between the publisher and the basketball player (to use his likeness in NBA 2K games). Thus, tattoo artist Jimmy Hayden’s belief that Take-Two had infringed his copyright was in vain: the jury found otherwise.

Dale Cendali, Take-Two’s attorney, said the ruling is important for the entertainment industry and anyone else who has ever gotten a tattoo and worried about not being able to freely share their body on social media with their tattoo(s) visible. Hayden, who not only tattooed Lebron James’ body but also worked on tattoos for Shaquille O’Neal and Kyrie Irving, first sued Take-Two in 2017, also claiming copyright infringement.

Previously, a federal judge in Illinois awarded a tattoo artist $3,750 in damages when he ruled that the use of tattoos on wrestlers in WWE 2K games did not constitute fair use. The WWE games are also associated with Take-Two, and although the amount was not very significant, it seemed at the time that other tattoo artists could make similar claims if their athletes’ tattoos appeared in the games.

In 2020, Take-Two also won a lawsuit against Solid Oak Sketches. According to the tattoo company, they own the rights to the tattoo designs of LeBron James, Kenyon Martin, and Eric Bledsoe, and believed that they were being recreated in NBA 2K games without their permission. Even then, the case was unsuccessful: the judge ruled that Take-Two had an implied license because the licensing agreement with the NBA included the rights to the basketball players’ looks…

Source: VGC, Reuters