Jury reportedly finds in favor of Randy Orton's tattoo artist in lawsuit against WWE; amount of damages to be paid possibly disclosed
The jury in the trial for the lawsuit between Randy Orton's tattoo artist Catherine Alexander against WWE and other companies has officially ruled in favor of Alexander.
The lawsuit was initially filed in 2018, alleging that Alexander's tattoo works on Randy Orton are her original designs she owns the right to. She sued for claims of copyright infringement and said that she had never given WWE or any of the gaming companies permission to have them recreated in official video games.
Catherine Alexander brought the lawsuit against WWE, Take-Two Interactive Software, 2K Games, Inc., Visual Concepts Entertainment, Yuke's Co., Ltd., Yuke's LA Inc, and 2K Sports, Inc.
According to a report by PW Insider, the jury has ruled in favor of Alexander after taking three hours and 26 minutes to come to a decision in the US District Court, Southern District of Illinois.
Done"
Randy Orton at the tattoo shop:
"I want this skull tattood on me"
"No prob. Where would you like it?"
"On my arms"
"Sure, one on each arm?"
"Sleeves of skulls"
"😳 Done"
#WWERaw https://t.co/22gqN06gpe
Another report by PW Insider stated that the jury made three main decisions. Asked if the tattoos were fair use, the jury ruled no and that Alexander was right to go for damages for them being used. Deciding the amount of damages she was entitled to for using the tattoos, they agreed that Alexander was entitled to $3750.
Finally, when asked whether Alexander was entitled to any profit from video games or other content for using the tattoos, the jury ruled that she was entitled to zero profit.
What were the contents of Randy Orton's tattoo artist Catherine Alexander's lawsuit against WWE and multiple gaming companies?
Catherine Alexander brought a lawsuit for the tattoo work she performed on Randy Orton between 2003 and 2008. She stated that the tattoos are "easily recognized by his fans and members of the public." She also noted that she submitted applications to register the copyrights for the tattoos on March 15, 2018, before the lawsuit.
BREAKING: Jury awards $3,750 to Catherine Alexander based on Take-Two and WWE's use of her tattoos of Randy Orton in video games. No award of profits. No fair use found. copyrightlately.com/pdfviewer/jury… twitter.com/copyrightlatel…
She said that she had contacted WWE regarding the rights for the tattoos, and WWE offered her a fee of $450 for the designs. She turned down the offer and claimed that she told WWE, "Plaintiff did not grant any permission to WWE to copy, duplicate or otherwise use or reproduce any of Plaintiff's designs."
A previous ruling on September 26, 2020, saw Judge Staci M. Yandle rule that WWE and Take-Two had copied five Randy Orton tattoos that were Alexander's original work. The summary judgment was denied at the time and put the issue forward for a jury trial.
This decision could affect future policies companies have regarding tattoos on their talent.
Do you think this decision will change how WWE uses wrestlers' tattoos in their games? Let us know in the comments section below.