“NBA Last 90” Foreshadows the Potentially Lucrative Intersection of eSports and Sports Betting

The National Basketball Association (NBA) has, in many ways, led the way in navigating both the legal logistics of legalized sports betting and the growing industry of eSports, a recently popular form of competition using video games. The recent release of the first-ever NBA virtual sports betting game, NBA Last 90, conceivably foreshadows the future of how two of the most potentially lucrative sports-related industries could intertwine in a meaningful and profitable manner.

Since the 2018 Supreme Court decision of Murphy v. National Collegiate Athletic …

September 21, 2017 Litigation

Tattoo Copyright Holder Argues Video Game Depiction is Not Fair Use

On September 12, 2017, Solid Oak Sketches LLC opposed game maker Take-Two Interactive’s, motion for judgment in its favor in suit over video game NBA 2K’s depiction of players’ tattoos. Solid Oak purchased the copyrights from tattoo artists for several basketball stars. Solid Oak filed suit last year alleging the infringement of its copyrights for eight different designs that were etched on LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, and others. Along with the suit, Solid Oak offered to let Take-Two use the tattoos in the game for …

May 8, 2017 NBA

Professional Gamers Scheduled to Participate in NBA Esports League

Two months ago, esports league and Take-Two Interactive announced they were creating a competitive esports league centered on Take-Two’s popular NBA 2k video game. Since that announcement, 17 NBA teams have agreed that they would participate in the NBA 2k esports league’s inaugural season, which is set to debut in 2018. The creation of the league is notable in that it will be the first esports league that is run by a U.S. professional sports organization.

Currently, the season is set to debut with esports …