In an interesting development in the legal landscape of intellectual property rights over tattoos, four claims for copyright infringement against the makers of the video game series NBA 2K have been dismissed by an Ohio federal judge. The lawsuit was predicated on the use of tattoo designs in the game series, originally inked onto three basketball stars, which the tattoo artist claimed as copyright infringement.
However, as reported by Law360, the ruling was in favor of the video game creators. The judge’s decision was based on the fact that the tattoo artist had not correctly registered the images when filing his complaint. The judgment serves as a crucial reminder in copyright law cases of the importance of proper initial registration and may impact subsequent cases of this nature.
Protection of artistic endeavours, even when permanently engraved onto the body of another individual, continues to be a legal grey area and poses important questions about the proprietorship of such works. This case, once again, brings the ongoing debate regarding tattoo copyright infringement into the limelight.