“My tattoos are a part of my persona and identity,” James wrote in a declaration of support for Take-Two and 2K Games. “If I am not shown with my tattoos, it wouldn’t really be a depiction of me.” THE NEW YORK TIMES
Tattoos are important to one's identity. Athletes are bothered by digitalized versions of them mimicking their tattoos and tattoo artists owning a personal
“Really, it didn’t even matter to me,”
Some athletes don't care.
Artists have an incentive to sign rather than pass up a client who could be a billboard for their work.
Artists don't reject tattooing a famous athlete because they want the fame and glory of their work being known.
Players’ unions, many of which license the players’ likenesses to video game publishers,
Players' unions have more control over an athlete's tattoos and significant art displayed on their body than the player themselves.
Lawyers generally agree that an implied license allows people to freely display their tattoos in public, including on television broadcasts or magazine covers. But when tattoos are digitally re-created on avatars in sports video games, copyright infringement can become an issue.
An implied license allows people to show off their tattoos to the public but when those tattoos are digitally re-created, copyright infringement gets in the way.
The company faced a copyright infringement lawsuit after the cover of the game NFL Street included an illustration of running back Ricky Williams and some of his tattoos, but the artist withdrew his claim in 2013.
Electronic Arts, a game developer and publisher company, faced a copyright infringement lawsuit over the cover of their game, NFL Street, displayed a cartoon version of Ricky Williams and his tattoos.
Any creative illustration “fixed in a tangible medium” is eligible for copyright, and, according to the US Copyright Office, that includes the ink displayed on someone’s skin.
Athletes don’t own their tattoos because any creative illustration that is “fixed in a tangible medium” can be copyrighted by the creator of that art.
When LeBron James bounds down a basketball court, he is both a transcendent athlete and a prominent palette for dozens of tattoos.
He is a palette for tattoos.