The tattoo artist behind LeBron James ink tried to sue NBA 2K publisher Take-Two Interactive. Jimmy Hayden filed a suit against the video game company, alleging that 2K engaged in copyright infringement because his work on Lebron James has been featured in the game for six straight titles. Hayden had amended the lawsuit in 2019. Several of his claims were dismissed from the case, but Hayden kept his lawsuit going. He ended up still suing 2k over two tattoos that appear on LeBron James in the game.
Now, the lawsuit is dead. A jury sided with Take-Two Interactive on April 19th. LeBron James has been featured in “NBA 2K” since “NBA 2K4”. NBA players are known to have a ton of ink on their bodies. A ruling in favor of Hayden may have opened the floodgates for hundreds of other tattoo artists to make the same claims. Take-Two argued that their right to use LeBron James’s likeness also included The King’s various tattoos. The jury unanimously agreed with the video game publisher.
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LeBron James Tattoo Artist Isn’t Giving Up
Hayden isn’t quite finished. He still has other cases related to his work. He has cases involving his tattoos appearing in NBA 2K21 on players Danny Green, Tristan Thompson, and LeBron James once again. The Lawsuit isn’t some frivolous attempt at a cash grab. Take-Two has been in the hot seat before in their depictions of athletes’ tattoos. In 2020, Take-Two won a 2016 lawsuit against tattoo studio Solid Oak Sketches, which alleged similar infringement as Hayden. A judge awarded tattoo artist Catherine Alexander $3700 in damages in 2022 after Take-Two failed to show their use of WWE star Randy Orton’s ink was also fair use.
Tattoos, Athletes, and video games have a long legal history. The NFL requires its players to get waivers from their tattoo artists. This policy was made to stop murky legal situations about copyright from developing. The NBA probably needs to take note of the NFL and copy its policy. In any case, Hayden’s remaining lawsuits will move forward. There is a chance he will win against the giant video game publisher this time.
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