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Games. Video Games.


Video simulation games
are all the rage in our society. These games can simulate just about anything; war, race car driving, flying, and especially sports. Forecasts show that the video game industry will bring in $1.8 trillion globally in 2016 and forecasts for the future explode way beyond this figure.

NBA. Take-Two Interactive Inc.

Some of the more popular games in recent years are simulations of professional basketball, the NBA. The most recent release, NBA 2K16, is the 17th installment of the NBA 2K series and was released in September of 2015. The developer of this series is a company called Visual Concepts Entertainment, and the publisher is 2K Sports, a subsidiary of video game manufacturer, Take-Two Interactive Inc.

Artist RJD2. Clean Living.

Since the release of NBA 2K16, there have been two copyright lawsuits filed against the developers and publisher. The most recent case was filed on June 20th by a musician John J. Simon, who claims parts of a song he wrote in 1978 are used in NBA 2K16 without his permission and without compensation.
The title track of NBA 2K16 is a song called “Clean Living” by artist RJD2. The plaintiff, Mr. Simon, claims that up to 7 seconds of a song he composed called “Everything You Are to Me” is used in the title track. He further claims that he registered his work in 1979 with the U.S. Copyright Office. He is pursuing damages, which include monetary compensation for lost wages, attorney costs and other fees.
Back in February, a tattoo licensing company, Solid Oak Sketches, filed a copyright infringement suit against Take-Two Interactive. The suit pertained to tattoos designed by the company which were used on the simulations of players in NBA 2K16, including LeBron James. They claim their copyrighted designs were used without permission. Take-Two Interactive has moved to dismiss the suit.
With realistic details being a premium when it comes to video games, there are sure to be many more lawsuits in the future involving copyright and trademark.
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