Tattoo Company Takes NBA 2K Makers To Court Over Player Ink

A company that owns rights to the tattoos inked on NBA players is continuing its legal battle against makers of the popular NBA 2K video-game series.

Solid Oak Sketches argued in court documents this month that while some players, such as LeBron James, “may have granted his rights of publicity” to game maker Take-Two Interactive “through the [NBA] . . . that is a consideration completely separate and apart from whether the defendants ever received a license to use the copyrights to the tattoo artwork that was fixed on Mr. James’ body by tattoo artists.”

The tattoo rights owner is urging a New York federal judge to deny Take-Two’s motion for summary judgment in a case that began in 2016.

Solid Oak bought the rights to the tattoos from the original artists in 2015.

Take-Two has argued that the inked images are fair use and the tattoos are de minimis — a legal term meaning no big deal — because they’re rendered virtually unrecognizable on-screen.

Plus, the game maker argued, making tattoos copyrightable would open a Pandora’s box beyond usage in video games.

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