INKED

Judge Sides With Video-Game Maker in Dispute Over LeBron James’ Tattoos

Solid Oak Sketches claimed it had the copyright to the NBA star’s tattoos, which appeared in a video game.

A company that owned the copyright of LeBron James’ tattoo designs lost a lawsuit against a video game publisher over the digital depiction of the NBA star’s ink. According to The Hollywood Reporter, a judge sided with Take-Two Interactive in a lawsuit filed by Solid Oak Sketches—which claims it has the copyrights to tattoos on James and other NBA stars including Kenyon Martin and Eric Bledsoe. U.S. District Court Judge Laura Taylor Swain concluded that the vide-game maker had implied license to use the tattoo in its “NBA 2K” game though its agreements with the NBA, which in turn has an agreement with players like LeBron. The judge also noted the inked players featured in the video game are among over 400 other players, and their depicted tattoos are “small and indistinct.” In a 2018 declaration, even James thought he should have the “right to license what I look like” to various projects, rather than an outside firm. “My understanding is that [my] tattoos are a part of my body and my likeness, and I have the right to have my tattoos visible when people or companies depict what I look like,” he said.