Cavaliers' forward Lebron James is now questioning on who owns his tattoo when used by a video-game franchise. This is coming from the legal battle against two companies where couple of player's tattoos were stated not considered copyright agreement from the artist.
Lebron James talked about the lawsuit involving his inks after he caught gist about it as reported by the Cleveland. The superstar wasn't aware of the lawsuit until earlier when he was informed about it and he was puzzled on this. Lebron James said "So even if I designed it (the tattoo), the company owns it?" Tattoos being pointed out are the doves on the forearms of James. Moreover, James isn't the only player being subjected to this lawsuit as Kobe Bryant and De Andre Jordan. In the end, James kiddingly said "I am going to copyright my lips" emphasizing that it would not be his concern.
The lawsuit being talked about with is filed by the Solid Oak Sketches over Take-Two Interactive and Visual Concepts. According to Washington Post, makers of the NBA 2k16 have used custom ink designs without the artist's permission to include it with their latest game. The Solid Oak Sketches has taken it to court to decide the outcome of this lawsuit with them saying that they tried to license the art for a fee but still, the makers used them. Moreover, it was included that design of the tattoo is the property of the person who drew it and not the person who used their body as canvas.
With this issue on hand, National Football League (NFL) also warned their athletes on issuing copyright with their tattoos as reported by Quartz. In 2013, the NFL Players Association gave awareness to the athletes that they must obtain a waiver from artists that would make their tattoos exempted from copyright law and protect from lawsuits. This isn't the first time that a copyright lawsuit happened as the 2012's UFC game, 2013's Ricky William tattoo and the 2011's Hangover movie wherein the studio used Mike Tyson's facial tattoo on one character. Nevertheless, similar leagues might start collecting waivers to protect their players.
Lebron James is puzzled on who owns the tattoo he's being inked permanently. The forward was not aware of it until given information where he asked on whether the company still owns it. The lawsuit was filed by Solid Oak Sketches over the makers of NBA 2k16 use of their tattoo designs without paying the fee to license the art.
