Take-Two wins lawsuit over use of basketball star LeBron James' tattoos in NBA 2K

Take-Two is occasionally plagued by court cases. For example, in the autumn of 2023, Take-Two and 2K Games were sued by a class action lawsuit over microtransactions in their sports games. Recently, Take-Two had another court case related to NBA star LeBron James.

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If an athlete has tattoos in real life, it is logical that they will also appear in the game, especially if it is one of the most famous players like LeBron. James's tattoos are present on his virtual model in the NBA 2K basketball simulation games, and they are the subject of a lawsuit.

Take-Two was not sued by the basketball player, but by his tattoo artist Jimmy Hayden. Hayden claimed that the use of James' tattoos in the basketball simulator violated his rights because he had not received compensation.

However, a federal jury in Ohio rejected these claims. Take-Two had an agreement to use James' image in the game, and therefore had an implied licence to put these tattoos on his model in the game.

As a result, the court found that Hayden's rights were not violated. Take-Two's lawyer Dale Cendali said that this is an important decision for the entertainment industry and anyone who has ever had a tattoo and could share their body with their tattoos.

As a reminder, in 2022, Take-Two lost a lawsuit related to WWE 2K and the image of wrestler Randy Orton's tattoos. A federal jury in Illinois awarded Orton's tattoo artist $3,750 in damages.

Source: gamespot