This takes litigation to an entirely new level.
ESPN is reporting that Solid Oak Sketches, a company that owns the right to tattoos on NBA players, has filed a lawsuit against Take-Two Interactive and Visual Concepts — studios that assisted in the creation of NBA 2K16.
Solid Oak's gripe is that the studios have been graphically-representing their ink on NBA players without the company's permission. ESPN is reporting that the company particularly took issue with players flashing their ink in NBA 2K's most recent title, NBA 2K16.
In total, Solid Oak counts eight designs that it says have been infringed on by Take-Two Interactive and Visual Concepts, including the butterfly ink on Kobe Bryant's arm and the child portrait with clouds and doves on LeBron James' forearms.
Solid Oak's attorney says that the company offered a license for the players' tattoos for $1.1 million to Take-Two so that their ink could be used in the NBA 2K titles without issue, but were never given a response.
"It's clear that they knew that this was something that was to be negotiated," Darren Heitner of the Heitner Legal firm co-representing Solid Oak told ESPN.
Unbelievably, tattoo artists have successfully sued video game developers for using their ink without permission before. In particular, ESPN cites tattoo artist Victor Escobedo being awarded $22,500 for his lion tattoo, which was used without permission and was portrayed on UFC fighter Carlos Condit in THQ's UFC Undisputed title.
Somewhere, tattoo artists have to be looking at NBA 2K16 in detail to see if their protected art is also being prominently displayed on players in the game without their permission.
