Copyright and tattoos: where are we now?
LeBron James's avatar in NBA 2K18 Copyright and tattoos is one of The IPKat’s favourite topics. Over time a few posts have been devoted to exploring the intricacies of copyright law as applied to this type of works: see, eg here , here , here , here , here , here , here . However, as Jeremy recalled - despite all this interest - The IPKat sports no tattoos, not least because of the mess it would make of the fur. Having said so, tattoos are artistic works with no particular features, if not the medium they are attached to, ie the human body. From a copyright standpoint, issues might arise in a number of circumstances, including when: The owner of the body (clearly a tangible medium) on which the tattoo is affixed is not also the owner of the copyright in the work (the tattoo); The tattoo reproduced on someone's body is an infringing copy of a third-party copyright work. While the former scenario has been already subject to litigation - whether concluded wit...