{"id":29137,"date":"2026-04-28T07:33:31","date_gmt":"2026-04-28T07:33:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/regimbeau.eu\/?post_type=insight&#038;p=29137"},"modified":"2026-06-03T14:36:48","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T14:36:48","slug":"when-copyright-comes-into-play-players-tattoos-in-the-nba-2k-game","status":"publish","type":"insight","link":"https:\/\/regimbeau.eu\/en\/insight\/when-copyright-comes-into-play-players-tattoos-in-the-nba-2k-game\/","title":{"rendered":"When copyright comes into play: players\u2019 tattoos in the NBA 2K game"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In 2016 in the United States, a company<a href=\"https:\/\/regimbeau.eu\/en\/insight\/when-copyright-comes-into-play-players-tattoos-in-the-nba-2k-game\/#_ftn1\">[2]<\/a> brought legal proceedings against the publishers of NBA video games, alleging copyright infringement due to the reproduction of said tattoos within the game (on the players\u2019 \u201c<em>avatars<\/em>\u201d).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\"><div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"498\" height=\"277\" data-id=\"28982\" src=\"https:\/\/regimbeau.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/image-12.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-28982\" style=\"width:487px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/regimbeau.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/image-12.png 498w, https:\/\/regimbeau.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/image-12-300x167.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 498px) 100vw, 498px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Sources&nbsp;: Mitchell Leff\/Getty Images&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image is-style-default\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"321\" height=\"280\" data-id=\"28991\" src=\"https:\/\/regimbeau.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/image-15.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-28991\" style=\"width:265px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/regimbeau.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/image-15.png 321w, https:\/\/regimbeau.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/image-15-300x262.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 321px) 100vw, 321px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Jeu NBA 2K<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The issues raised by this case, which the US judge had to address, were numerous:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Are tattoos protected by copyright?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Does the reproduction of protected tattoos in a video game constitute an act of infringement?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Is the licence granted by the players concerned regarding their image sufficient?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u2026<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The publishers of the <em>NBA 2K<\/em> video game cited several defences, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>the granting of an <strong>implied licence<\/strong> to reproduce the tattoos<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>the \u201c<strong>fair use<\/strong>\u201d exception (<em>depiction was necessary to portray the basketball player as accurately as possible<\/em>), and\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>the \u201c<strong>de minimis use\u201d<\/strong> exception (<em>depiction is of minor importance, and the speed of the player\u2019s movements during the game means the tattoos cannot be clearly seen<\/em>).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On these grounds, the copyright infringement claim was dismissed by the New York District Court <a href=\"https:\/\/regimbeau.eu\/en\/insight\/when-copyright-comes-into-play-players-tattoos-in-the-nba-2k-game\/#_ftn1\">[3]<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Could this ruling be applied and upheld by French courts?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Under French law, for a work to be eligible for copyright protection, it must be original. The Paris Court of Appeal has, in the past, found a record company liable for reproducing tattoos on various media without obtaining the tattoo artist\u2019s permission<a href=\"https:\/\/regimbeau.eu\/en\/insight\/when-copyright-comes-into-play-players-tattoos-in-the-nba-2k-game\/#_ftn1\">[4]<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">US judges, for their part, examined the originality of the tattoo designs and concluded that the tattoos in question, whilst eligible for protection, were not sufficiently creative to allow the exceptions invoked to be set aside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">French copyright law does not recognise the same conditions of protection, the same regime or the same exceptions (<em>exceptions mentioned above do not exist as such in French law<\/em>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In a similar context in France, several areas for consideration could be explored:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Discussions regarding the originality of the tattoo (<em>the main condition for protection<\/em>);<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The \u201caccessory element\u201d theory (<em>the tattoo is depicted in an accessory manner and is not the main subject of the work reproducing it<\/em>);<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The composite work (<em>implying, for the author of the secondary work, the need to obtain the consent of the rights holder of the primary work<\/em>)<a href=\"https:\/\/regimbeau.eu\/en\/insight\/when-copyright-comes-into-play-players-tattoos-in-the-nba-2k-game\/#_ftn2\"><strong><em>[5]<\/em><\/strong><\/a>).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/regimbeau.eu\/en\/insight\/when-copyright-comes-into-play-players-tattoos-in-the-nba-2k-game\/#_ftnref1\">[1]<\/a>&nbsp;A series of basketball video games published by American companies 2K Games Inc and Take-Two Interactive Software Inc<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/regimbeau.eu\/en\/insight\/when-copyright-comes-into-play-players-tattoos-in-the-nba-2k-game\/#_ftnref1\">[2]<\/a>&nbsp;US company Solid Oak Sketches (a copyright management company representing several tattoo artists)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/regimbeau.eu\/en\/insight\/when-copyright-comes-into-play-players-tattoos-in-the-nba-2k-game\/#_ftnref1\">[3]<\/a>&nbsp;<em>Solid Oak Sketches, LLC v. 2K Games, Inc.<\/em>, (26 March 2020)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/regimbeau.eu\/en\/insight\/when-copyright-comes-into-play-players-tattoos-in-the-nba-2k-game\/#_ftnref2\">[4]<\/a>&nbsp;Article L.113-5 of the French Intellectual Property Code<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/regimbeau.eu\/en\/insight\/when-copyright-comes-into-play-players-tattoos-in-the-nba-2k-game\/#_ftnref1\">[5]<\/a>&nbsp;Paris Court of Appeal \u2013 3 July 1998 \u2013 No. 97\/00183<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In 2016 in the United States, a company[2] brought legal proceedings against the publishers of NBA video games, alleging copyright infringement due to the reproduction of said tattoos within the...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":0,"template":"","tags":[],"class_list":["post-29137","insight","type-insight","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.7 - 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