Take-Two Interactive & Visual Concepts Sued By Tattoo Artists

[m1ke_nyc]

What gets me about this is what makes the tattoo the artist intellectual property ? Usually the person being tattoed brainstorms the idea with the artist. It takes 2, to make the tattoo unless you just tell the artist to put one of his/her designs on. Also J.R. Smith has the Yankees logo on his neck, does that mean the Yankees can sue 2K ?

[ksuttonjr76]

Quote: Originally Posted by roadman

And that tells you companies would rather settle out in court vs paying out more $ and time to a verdict that could go against them.(I think that is 3 lawsuits we are aware of) From that point forward, in EA's case, the NFLPA sent out a message to all the players, the only way your tats are in Madden for now and in the future is to get a waiver from the artist. The case against EA was dismissed, but it appears the NFLPA and EA didn't want to take any more chances. Here is a great article written in 2013 about this whole mess. http://www.bloomberg.com/bw/articles...o-get-you-sued Defendants are leery of letting these claims get before a jury because the damages could be costly. As long as the artist has taken the step of registering his copyright, he is eligible for statutory damages. It doesn’t matter, in other words, whether the infringement actually cut into sales. Depending on the nature of the use, the creator would be paid between $750 and $150,000 per unauthorized copy. “With The Hangover they were really panicking,” says Bradley, “because there are posters and advertising, too.” The cheaper course is to get a waiver beforehand. “Anything you can do to prevent headaches is always good,” says Bradley. “Give them a signed football or something.” Most tattoo artists are just happy for the free advertising that comes with celebrity clients. Football players have not reported any trouble getting waivers so far. “Players are doing it,” NFLPA’s Atallah says. “Tattoo artists are cooperating. And if there is a little extra money exchanged for the license, then so be it.” And from the tattoo artist that inked Carlos Condit for the UFC game from THQ: Escobedo has a different idea. He says he would charge from $50,000 to $200,000 to sign away his copyright to an NFL player. “A song that only plays for a few seconds in a game gets $25,000 to $100,000 for a licensing agreement,” he says. “I don’t see the difference with my custom mark that was way harder to do in someone’s skin than it is on a computer or a piece of paper.”

Which is probably why I mostly expect 2K Sports to settle out of court, than fight it. Although, I rather see them fight it, I can see why they would elect to settle. If the jury was filled with people from this board, the tattoo artist would more than likely lose. However, if 2K Sports were to happen to lose, I can already see that it would be a costly loss that would probably go well beyond the 1.1 million, because 2K Sports would be facing penalties on top of the lawyer's demands. At the end of day, a settlement would be the cheapest way to go, and changing your internal procedures via e-mail would be easiest way to adapt.

However, it does kinda make you wonder why EA Sports didn't change their procedure with NBA Live like they did with Madden.

[redsox4evur]

Quote: Originally Posted by ksuttonjr76

Which is probably why I mostly expect 2K Sports to settle out of court, than fight it. Although, I rather see them fight it, I can see why they would elect to settle. If the jury was filled with people from this board, the tattoo artist would more than likely lose. However, if 2K Sports were to happen to lose, I can already see that it would be a costly loss that would probably go well beyond the 1.1 million, because 2K Sports would be facing penalties on top of the lawyer's demands. At the end of day, a settlement would be the cheapest way to go, and changing your internal procedures via e-mail would be easiest way to adapt. However, it does kinda make you wonder why EA Sports didn't change their procedure with NBA Live like they did with Madden.

Because EA like the NBPA doesn't care. EA doesn't make the players go get the rights from the artists. It's the NFL Players Association that makes them do it.

[Iasounis]

Quote: Originally Posted by redsox4evur

They have sued celebrities per se. The guy who did Mike Tyson's tattoo sued the Hangover team because they used his work (putting the tattoo on Ed Helms face without changing it) without his permission.

Not sure if this is the same. I'd figure Tyson has more leverage since it's his tattoo...

In this case it's somebody putting a tattoo on 'Lebron James' and 2K depicting 'Lebron James'.

[roadman]

Quote: Originally Posted by Iasounis

Not sure if this is the same. I'd figure Tyson has more leverage since it's his tattoo... In this case it's somebody putting a tattoo on 'Lebron James' and 2K depicting 'Lebron James'.

Incorrect on the first sentence.

The artist had the tattoo copyrighted, it his creative design on Tyson. The movie company settled quickly because they had a ton of posters and advertisers with that tattoo pasted all over the place.

There are copyright laws that protect the creativity of a tattoo artist we are finding out over the last decade.

[CujoMatty]

Quote: Originally Posted by ratedmoney

What gets me about this is what makes the tattoo the artist intellectual property ? Usually the person being tattoed brainstorms the idea with the artist. It takes 2, to make the tattoo unless you just tell the artist to put one of his/her designs on. Also J.R. Smith has the Yankees logo on his neck, does that mean the Yankees can sue 2K ?

Its funny you mention Jr Smith. Someone had mentioned in this thread that EA changed his Yankees tattoo in NBA live. Not going to lie I didn't believe him so I checked last night and ya sure enough they did. It looks like a y and an I mixed lol. Apparently EA did have some foresight.

[roadman]

Once bitten, twice shy.

[ZoneSix]

Quote: Originally Posted by ratedmoney

What gets me about this is what makes the tattoo the artist intellectual property ? Usually the person being tattoed brainstorms the idea with the artist. It takes 2, to make the tattoo unless you just tell the artist to put one of his/her designs on. Also J.R. Smith has the Yankees logo on his neck, does that mean the Yankees can sue 2K ?

its actually the young money records logo.