A federal infringement lawsuit was recently filed by a group of tattoo rights holders against "NBA2K" developer Take-Two Interactive. The group claims that Take-Two Interactive violated copyright infringement laws by not acquiring the necessary licenses for some of the tattoos included in the game.

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Solid Oak Sketches is the rights holders of tattoos of some NBA superstars like LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers and Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers. On the other hand, all cases about tattoo copyright infringement have been settled outside of the court. It is a legal fact that even Solid Oak Sketches included in the notes of its lawsuit.

According to Hollywood Reporter, Solid Oak Sketches demands more than $1.1 million for the rights of its tattoos. The lawsuit was filed when the game developer did not pay the necessary amount but still insisted on using the tattoos on "NBA 2K" games.

Solid Oak Sketches accuses Take-Two Interactive of "willful disregard" to copyright infringement laws after the latter still used the questionable tattoos. Solid Oak Sketches said in its lawsuit that the group have attempted several negotiations in order to some up with a reasonable licensing deal with Take-Two Interactive, but the attempts were not successful.

In a copy of the federal lawsuit acquired by Ars Technica, Solid Oak Sketches claims, "Based upon their history of refusal to respect the rights of the Plaintiff, unless this Court enjoins their actions, the Defendants will continue to infringe upon the Plaintiff's valid intellectual property rights in the copyrighted tattoo designs. As such, the Plaintiff is entitled to preliminary and permanent injunctive relief."

Some notable out-of-court tattoo settlements in the past include Mike Tyson versus Warner Bros. in the boxer's effort to stop "The Hangover: Part II" movie. THQ was also sued by an Arizona tattoo artist after the latter charged the video game developer of infringing tattoo designs in the "UFC Undisputed" video game.

TagsNBA2K, video game, Take-Two Interactive, copyright infringement