Mike Tyson's Tattoo Artist Sues Warner Brothers

[Mark McCormick]

Interested to see how this works out...

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/21/bu.../21tattoo.html

[crosshair]

Lulz.
Ed is an old friend of from college. It's been fun watching him gradually become a kind of cult celebrity, slowly and through hard work.
Now between this, and my seeing his face on a Hangover II billboard every day on the way to work, we're into household name territory.
Kinda freaky.

[DenisMutter]

What does anybody think about the tattoo artist's copyright claim? Is that legit - or could the use of the design in the movie be cast as a "parody" of the 1/1 design on Tyson?

[dspring]

so he has no problem with Mike Tyson parading it around without getting consent everywhere he goes? Is he going to pay some old Maori tattooist who originally probably did it some cash if he wins? I think this is a crock...

[DenisMutter]

I think his case is weak, as he has never sought protection previously, and therefor has not defended his copyright - to a work that has appeared thousands of times - maybe millions of times in print and video, around the world. And WB is already asserting the parody defense.

[slater]

Lulz.
Ed is an old friend of from college. It's been fun watching him gradually become a kind of cult celebrity, slowly and through hard work.
Now between this, and my seeing his face on a Hangover II billboard every day on the way to work, we're into household name territory.
Kinda freaky.

I take it you both attended Cornell?

[Ruthless Cow]

I think his only chance of getting anything is if the bean counters at WB just decide it's cheaper to settle than go to court.

[lil_tuffy]

I think his case is weak, as he has never sought protection previously, and therefor has not defended his copyright - to a work that has appeared thousands of times - maybe millions of times in print and video, around the world. And WB is already asserting the parody defense.

I agree with this. But I think his point is valid.

In most cases, you are not paying a tattooist for the usage rights of the design but for the development and application of said design. Just like a poster can't further be used as a tshirt, website design or even appear in a video without additional permission/compensation.

I don't think the artist just ripped off a maori design (he may have - I don't know) -- he created something in the style of, but it's not really any different than the poster that went up last week that someone said was reminiscent of R. Crumb's style.

I think it's a weak, money grab but I also think it's an important copyright trademark issue.

[caribou]

i wonder if this tattoo artist clears the copyright whenever he tattoos a tasmanian devil or similarly copyrighted character on someone? anyways, it'll be interesting to see how this pans out.

[caribou]

by the way, where's johnny thief been lately? i'd love to hear his take on this situation.