WWE then sublicensed those name and likeness rights, along with those of other wrestlers, to Take-Two Interactive, publisher of the popular “WWE 2K” video games. Meanwhile, Catherine Alexander has not worked as a tattoo artist since 2009 and has never licensed the use of any of her tattoos in other media.Īs part of his wrestling deal, Orton licensed the right to use his name and likeness to WWE. Some consider him one of the greatest professional wrestlers ever. He’s held the WWE Championship nine times and WWE’s World Heavyweight Championship four times. Orton went on to become a famous wrestler with WWE. Skull arm design Bible verse design Upper back design Tribal design Some of Randy Orton’s tattoos from Catherine Alexander’s copyright applications. Alexander and Orton never discussed anything about copyrights or permissions when Orton got the tattoos, or at any time afterwards. They included tribal designs, a Bible verse, a dove, a rose and a skull. Here’s a quick rundown of the facts: Alexander inked six tattoos on Orton between 20. What would you say if I told you that twelve strangers would be given the power to determine whether you could legally control the use of your tattooed likeness in photographs, commercials, motion pictures and video games? What if you were an actor, model, musician or anyone else whose livelihood depended on your appearance in expressive or commercial works? What if I told you that you might need permission from your tattoo artist to do those things?ĭon’t shoot the messenger, but that’s basically what a federal judge in Illinois has found, ruling that a jury will get to decide whether or not a video game publisher’s realistic depiction of professional wrestler Randy Orton in the “WWE 2K” video game series infringes tattoo artist Catherine Alexander’s copyrights in Orton’s tattoos. Why would you? After all, it’s your tattoo and your body, right? You certainly don’t bring along an assignment or license agreement for the tattoo artist to sign.
What you probably don’t do, however, is have any sort of discussion with the tattoo artist about copyrights and permissions. After all, you don’t want to have any ragrets down the line. You double and triple check the design to make sure it looks exactly the way you want it and doesn’t have any misspelled words. You find an experienced, qualified artist. You know it’s going to be permanent, so you do your homework and take all reasonable precautions. Ok, picture this: You decide to get a tattoo. Update on Trial and Jury Verdict HERE and HERE In a decision with frightening implications, a court in Illinois holds that a jury will decide whether Randy Orton’s tattoo artist can control the use of the wrestler’s image in video games.
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