So Who's Tattoo is it Anyway?

Posted Tuesday, February 2, 2016 by Andrew Charles Huff

Beware video game makers…if you use a professional players image including their tattoos…the ink artist might be able to lay claim to their work. This issue is at the center of a lawsuit involving the makers of “NBA 2K16,” who used custom ink designs without the artist’s permission in their latest video game. The game makers are being taken to court by Solid Oak Sketches over their work, namely the portraits done for LeBron James and Kobe Bryant.

The company claims that they tried to license the art for a fee to the makers of “2K16,” who did not pay, but used the designs anyway in their video game. It’s not the first time that the issue of art, skin and property rights have gotten entangled over money. It happened regarding a UFC game in 2012 and also in 2013 over a Ricky Williams tat from nearly a decade prior.