{"id":382,"date":"2018-01-03T04:43:05","date_gmt":"2018-01-03T04:43:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/omnilegalgroup.com\/blog\/?p=382"},"modified":"2019-01-18T18:23:43","modified_gmt":"2019-01-18T18:23:43","slug":"tattoo-artist-claims-copyright-infringement-for-use-of-tattoos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/omnilegalgroup.com\/blog\/tattoo-artist-claims-copyright-infringement-for-use-of-tattoos\/","title":{"rendered":"Tattoo Artist Claims Copyright Infringement For Use of Tattoos in Video Games"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Prominent tattoo artist, James Hayden, recently filed a lawsuit in federal district court against the creators of the video game series \u201cNBA 2K\u201d for reproducing his copyrighted tattoo works on the digital versions of famous basketball players without his permission. Specifically, the complaint alleges copyright infringement, unjust enrichment, and violation of the Visual Artists Rights Act against 2K Games Inc. Hayden further claims the defendants\u2019 reproduction of his copyrighted works is so detailed that the \u201cNBA 2K17\u201d version includes a \u201cMyPlayer\u201d feature allowing users to move, scale, rotate, and place over 3,000 customizable tattoos. Thus, Hayden\u2019s copyrighted tattoo works are reproduced each time the game is played.<\/span><\/p>\n

Hayden\u2019s client roster includes superstars such as LeBron James, Shaquille O\u2019Neal, Danny Green, Tristan Thompson, and Kyrie Irving. The complaint provides by way of example several of the designs he has created for famous clients. For instance, many fans of LeBron James are clearly able to recognize his classic tattoos including \u201cGloria\u201d and \u201cLion Design\u201d appearing on his right shoulder and the stars on his left shoulder. Danny Green\u2019s tattoo of a basketball player emerging from flames beneath the words \u201cI Hold My Own\u201d is another example. Further, Tristan Thompson\u2019s replica of Michelangelo\u2019s \u201cThe Creation of Adam\u201d readable beneath the words \u201cI Am My Brother\u2019s Keeper\u201d is yet another iconic work visible in the game.<\/span><\/p>\n

There is minimal case law involving tattoos and copyright law. At a minimum, however, tattoos are protectable works of art under U.S. copyright law. As such, artists presumably own the copyright to any original work created by that artist. A tattoo artist thereby has the exclusive right to control the reproduction, distribution, and public display of its copyrighted work.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Prominent tattoo artist, James Hayden, recently filed a lawsuit in federal district court against the creators of the video game series \u201cNBA 2K\u201d for reproducing his copyrighted tattoo works on the digital versions of famous basketball players without his permission. Specifically, the complaint alleges copyright infringement, unjust enrichment, and violation of the Visual Artists Rights…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3159,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-382","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"yoast_head":"\nTattoo Artist Claims Copyright Infringement For Use of Tattoos in Video Games - Omni Legal Group Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/omnilegalgroup.com\/blog\/tattoo-artist-claims-copyright-infringement-for-use-of-tattoos\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Tattoo Artist Claims Copyright Infringement For Use of Tattoos in Video Games - Omni Legal Group Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Prominent tattoo artist, James Hayden, recently filed a lawsuit in federal district court against the creators of the video game series \u201cNBA 2K\u201d for reproducing his copyrighted tattoo works on the digital versions of famous basketball players without his permission. 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