California copyright-case leaves tattoo artists in limbo; Fox26 Houston, January 29, 2024

Tom Zizka

, Fox26 Houston ; California copyright-case leaves tattoo artists in limbo

"Patent and Copyright expert Joh Rizvi, known at The Patent Professor, says the California case never got to the issue of whether images reproduced in tattoos are fair to use as art and expression. 

"What I find is the more interesting question is, 'Is a tattoo different? Is this free speech?'" he wonders.

Fair Use has been the subject of countless lawsuits, and Rizvi says this one leaves artists in a legal gray area, with no precedent."

Explainer: who owns the copyright to your tattoo?; The Conversation, August 10, 2020

Marie Hadley, The Conversation; Explainer: who owns the copyright to your tattoo?

"So, why don’t tattooists sue over copying?

In some art industries, there can be a big gap between holding rights and exercising them. 

To tattooists, appropriation is mostly seen as a matter of ethics or manners rather than law...

These norms aside, copyright law does apply to tattoos. Whether or not more tattoo enthusiasts will seek an appropriate licence, as occurred in the case of Jarrangini (buffalo), or a copyright owner will sue for a rights violation, is another matter."

Who Owns the Copyright to Tattoos? A Court Issues a Landmark Ruling Over LeBron James and Other NBA Stars’ Right to License Their Body Art; artnet news, March 30, 2020

Taylor Dafoe, artnet news; Who Owns the Copyright to Tattoos? A Court Issues a Landmark Ruling Over LeBron James and Other NBA Stars’ Right to License Their Body Art

LeBron James says he has the right to license his own likeness, and that includes his tattoos.

"The US district court judge came down on the side of the video game company, writing that the “tattooists necessarily granted the Players nonexclusive licenses to use the Tattoos as part of their likenesses.”...

The judge ultimately agreed with James when she “effectively decided that the right of the athletes to license their likeness was not enslaved by the copyright interests of those artists that had inked the athletes,” Amelia Brankov, a copyright lawyer not involved in the case, told Artnet News...

Whether or not the decision will impact future cases on body art is still to be seen, but Brankov notes that there are several other pending cases against video game publishers that pertain to tattoos.

“While other courts are not obligated to follow her reasoning, [this judge’s] decision could be a harbinger of dismissals in other cases,” Brankov says."

IP and counterculture: Who owns a tattoo?; Lexology, September 27, 2019

Novagraaf - Alastair Rawlence, Lexology; IP and counterculture: Who owns a tattoo?

"Advising the artist: think bigger than copyright

With the exception of tribal tattoos based on an indigenous right or designs transferred to another party via assignment, IP rights in tattoo artwork will belong to the artist that created the tattoo, assuming it meets the requirements for artistic copyright. To do this, it needs to be ‘fixed’ (ie permanent) and ‘original’, although the threshold for the latter is fairly low.

As their tattoo body of work will invariably qualify for copyright protection, in theory there is nothing tattoo artists need to do to prove the subsistence of this right other than keep records of their designs and their creation dates. However, a tattoo design can also be eligible for trademark protection where it satisfies the requirements of a bona fide intention to use: for example use in marketing as part of a branded range of products. It may also function as a design right where the tattoo satisfies the requirement for novelty."

Athletes Don’t Own Their Tattoos. That’s a Problem for Video Game Developers.; The New York Times, December 27, 2018

Jason M. Bailey, The New York Times; Athletes Don’t Own Their Tattoos. That’s a Problem for Video Game Developers.

"Take-Two has argued in court papers that Solid Oak’s tattoos are seen rarely, fleetingly and hazily in the NBA 2K games, but the judge rejected a motion for dismissal in March.

A verdict for either side would set an important precedent on how the owner of a tattoo copyright can enforce it, said Yolanda M. King, an associate law professor at Northern Illinois University who has extensively studied the issue."

Copyright in tattoos - a prickly legal question; Lexology, June 4, 2018

Nicole Smalberger, Adams & Adams; Lexology; Copyright in tattoos - a prickly legal question

[Kip Currier: Posted this story today for my IP and "Open" Movements course. Tattoo-related copyright issues have fast become a topic of fascination--and often, surprise--for the inked and non-inked...]

"Would it ever occur to you that a third party might be able to claim rights in your skin? In the case of art that has been inked into your skin, namely tattoo art, that may well be the case.

A tattoo is an artistic work. If it is original and reduced to a material form (which it very arguably is when it is inked into your skin), copyright subsists. In the case of artistic works, it is the artist or creator of the work who owns the copyright, namely the tattoo artist and not the person on whom the tattoo appears, irrespective of the fact that the latter has paid for his/her tattoo. In short, when you pay your tattoo artist, you pay for the tattoo, not the copyright subsisting in it.

This issue has come up for legal consideration in the United States..."

New Tattoo Copyright Infringement Case Filed By Artist Who Inked WWE Wrestler Randy Orton; Forbes, April 18, 2018

Darren Heitner, Forbes; New Tattoo Copyright Infringement Case Filed By Artist Who Inked WWE Wrestler Randy Orton

"A new lawsuit will once again test the extent that Copyright Law applies when tattoos are involved. Catherine Alexander, the tattooist who inked WWE wrestler Randy Orton, has filed a lawsuit against WWE and 2K Games (the publisher of video games such as WWE 2K) for allegedly using her designs in a commercial manner and without her consent.

Alexander makes the claim that the video games featuring Orton contain exact replications, in digital design, to multiple tattoos, including a tribal tattoo that she placed on the wrestler's upper back, and that the use constitutes copyright infringement. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois, indicates that Alexander even made prior efforts to come to an agreement with the WWE."

Who owns your ink? Tattoos artists turn to lawsuits to protect intellectual property; Australian Broadcasting Company, 10/26/16

Antony Funnell, Australian Broadcasting Company; Who owns your ink? Tattoos artists turn to lawsuits to protect intellectual property:

"Professor Johnson said she had never heard of a situation where a judge has ordered the physical removal of a tattoo. Most disputes are resolved before the need for court intervention.

"Oftentimes when there is a lawsuit, they settle very quickly because the tattoo artist a lot of times doesn't have much to lose. They are very, very interested in getting justice," she said.

"But we do have a lot of settlement talks, a lot of negotiations where people are trying to figure out how to agree in this particular capacity."

Her advice for anyone thinking of getting a tattoo in this modern litigious world?

"Get a release very early. Get a contract signed between you as the tattooed individual and the tattoo artist," she said.

"That is one of the best things an individual can do if they find themselves running afoul of some copyright-related claim, some type of contract.""

Athletes' Tattoo Artists File Copyright Suits, Leaving Indelible Mark; Wall Street Journal, 6/16/14

Jacob Gersheman, Wall Street Journal; Athletes' Tattoo Artists File Copyright Suits, Leaving Indelible Mark:

"The question of who owns the copyright to a tattoo has never been settled in court, but lawyers and scholars say there is no obvious reason why tattoo artists shouldn't be covered by the same rights granted to photographers or other visual artists. To be copyrightable, artwork needs to have some originality. It also has to be "fixed in a tangible medium of expression." That can be a canvas, film or audio. Skin counts, too, in the case of a custom tattoo designed by an artist, said Case Western Reserve University law professor Aaron Perzanowski, who teaches intellectual property law."