WWE News: Huge Update On Randy Orton Tattoo Lawsuit

What's the story?

WWE 2k19 was released to the general public on October 18th 2018 and still stands as one of the best games of the entire franchise. Not only is that evident by its in depth career mode that allows The WWE Universe to live the life of a WWE superstar, but also by its improved graphics, gameplay and much more.

Unfortunately for the publishers of the game, it wasn't without its controversies as game designers were accused of using tattoo designs for Randy Orton's character model when they weren't allowed to do so. Catherine Alexander, who did the tattoo's for Orton has filed a lawsuit against WWE, Take two interactive and 2K games claiming that they do not have her permission to use the art in the game.

In case you didn't know...

Alexander is said to have performed the tattoo work on Orton between 2003 and 2008 and is now suing several entities associated with WWE and 2K for incorporating the designs into Orton's character model. She also goes on to claim that the tattoo's are her property and not that of Orton's, which she believes means the company should have asked her for permission first.

Interestingly enough, this isn't Alexander's first issue with WWE, as the tattoo artist contacted the company in 2019 about using her designs on several different products that were being sold. WWE responded by offering her 450 dollars for use of the designs, but she claimed that she did not give permission for the designs to be used and rejected the offer.

The heart of the matter

According to PWInsider "a trial date has been set for the Randy Orton tattoo lawsuit – and that date is April 27, 2020. For those who don’t know, Catherine Alexander brought the lawsuit against WWE and Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc., 2K Games, Inc., 2K Sports, Inc., Visual Concepts Entertainment, Yuke’s Co., Ltd. and Yuke’s LA Inc."

Again, the lawsuit claims that WWE 2K and the other entities used Alexander's tattoo designs on Orton without her permission and that they are her property. Whether a judge rules in her favor or not on that remains to be seen, but it will be interesting to watch this one play out over the next year or so.

What's next?

Unfortunately for the WWE Universe, there's not really much left to say on this. The court date won't take place for about another calendar year and by then, WWE 2K20 will already be in the hands of die hard WWE fans. What will be interesting to see however is if Orton's tattoo designs will once again be included in the newest edition of the game.

As for Orton, he is not named as a defendant in Alexander's lawsuit, which means he will likely not be involved in the court proceedings or the result of such.