Tattoo artist Victor Whitmill is suing Warner Bros., saying a facial tattoo in its new movie "The Hangover 2" violates his copyright because the tattoo looks identical to the one he designed for boxer Mike Tyson. Apparently, no court has yet grappled with the question of whether tattoos can be protected by copyright.
The Copyright Act sets out the requirements for copyright protection: you have to have an “original work of authorship,” and it must be “fixed in a tangible medium of expression.” There's not much question that Whitmill's design is an “original work of authorship” — if it were painted on canvas, for instance, there's no doubt that it would receive copyright protection. The harder question is whether Mike Tyson's face is a “tangible medium of expression.”
I don't recognize the face but -- wait for it, snicker, snicker -- the tangible medium of expression is familiar. Sorry, couldn't help myself.
(via hit & run, which earlier this year published a review of the movement to legalize tattooing in modern America: “the tattoo itself, the process of tattooing, and the business of tattooing are forms of pure expression fully protected by the First Amendment.” Good news for my niece the tattoo artist.)
