Take-Two Interactive & Visual Concepts Sued By Tattoo Artists

[TheDuggler]

Does the NBA have to get permission from every tattoo artist to broadcast the players on TV?

[Mikerophone]

What 2k should do is claim the game is a satirical portrayal of the NBA (use Spike Lee's story mode for proof), which would protect everything in the game... see - South Park.

[Mikerophone]

Quote: Originally Posted by TheDuggler

Does the NBA have to get permission from every tattoo artist to broadcast the players on TV?

I think you mean "Television Stations" and not "NBA", but...no, they don't.

The television stations are not reproducing the work - copying - if you will. They are merely showing the players in real time and those players happen to have ink on them.

In a game, that has to be recreated...that's where infringement comes into play.

[SirGaryColeman]

Quote: Originally Posted by DreamAgain

So what if I take exact image of LeBron's tattoo and put it on my skin myself? What happens then

You'd only get in trouble if you entered into prostitution and used the tattoo for branding/marketing

[TheDuggler]

Quote: Originally Posted by Mikerophone

I think you mean "Television Stations" and not "NBA", but...no, they don't. The television stations are not reproducing the work - copying - if you will. They are merely showing the players in real time and those players happen to have ink on them. In a game, that has to be recreated...that's where infringement comes into play.

Aren't the players body scanned to get accurate tattoos? Whats the difference between that and putting a picture of a person up on TV? You are scanning the individual its just coincidental that their body is tattooed.

[redsox4evur]

Quote: Originally Posted by TheDuggler

Aren't the players body scanned to get accurate tattoos? Whats the difference between that and putting a picture of a person up on TV? You are scanning the individual its just coincidental that their body is tattooed.

Here's your difference:
Copyright law disagrees with you. Even though a photo of the tattoo is technically different from a graphical rendering, they are treated the same.

See 17 USC 102 - Scope of copyright. Clearly covers pictorial and graphic works under a(5).
See 17 USC 106 - Exclusive rights in copyrighted works . Specifically see sections (1) and (2). FYI, a derivative work is a "work based on or derived from one or more already exist- ing works. Common derivative works include translations, musical arrange- ments, motion picture versions of literary material or plays, art reproductions, abridgments, and condensations of preexisting works." A graphical representation of a tattoo is either an art reproduction, or in the alternative an "abridgment."

EA is SMART for not illegally recreating a tattoo. What's wrong with not wanting to get sued?

Also, as a bit of irony, the importance you are all placing on tattoos makes a lawsuit against the NFL, NFLPA, etc. more lucrative for the IP holder because it shows a high monetary value of the intellectual property at issue = more damages.

Some other things to be considered:
1) If the tattoo is non-original it doesn't need to be approved by the tattoo artist. See 17 USC 102 (a). So, if a player has a tribal tattoo that is a reproduction of a tattoo that dates back hundreds of years, the tattoo artist has no IP rights.
2) Does the player own the tattoo IP in the first place? See 17 USC 201(b) Works made for hire. In the case of a work made for hire, the employer or other person for whom the work was prepared is considered the author for purposes of this title, and, unless the parties have expressly agreed otherwise in a written instrument signed by them, owns all of the rights comprised in the copyright. I'm curious (having no tattoos) if a tattoo artist retains the IP rights with a written instrument.

[mcpats]

I can guarantee you that the artist that gave LeBron James his tattoo will tell everyone that steps foot in his shop that he did a tattoo for king James and he probably has a picture to prove it. So he is profiting off of using LeBron as de facto marketing

[Aliean]

i think i just got dumber by reading that article.what a load of horse ....
people get more pathetic by the day