America can't wait to point and laugh at Ed Helms's tattooed face in the Hangover II, but a litigious tattoo artist could make that laughter die if a judge grants his motion for an injunction halting the movie's release. Next week a federal court will consider the case brought by S. Victor Whitmill, a tattoo artist who created Mike Tyson's face tattoo, which, in the sequel, is replicated on Helms. It's that replica that Whitmill calls copyright infringement, and he demands satisfaction.
It's unlikely the release will be stopped—even if a judge issued the injunction, Warner Brothers would just throw some money at Whitmill until he dropped it. But the lawsuit raises interesting questions about how far a copyright extends when it's claiming work on another human's body. The Times wonders, "If a tattoo clearly violates copyright — say, exactly reproduces a Keith Haring drawing or an Annie Leibovitz photograph without permission — could a court order it removed?"
Whitmill's lawsuit stresses that he has no problem with Tyson appearing on film with the tattoo, but the tattoo on Helms is "reckless copyright infringement," according to the lawsuit, which further asserts that Whitmill "has never been asked for permission for, and has never consented to, the use, reproduction or creation of a derivative work based on his original tattoo." Tyson even signed off on a statement for the lawsuit declaring that "all artwork, sketches and drawings related to my tattoo and any photographs of my tattoo are property" of Whitmill.
Warner Bros. claims that halting the movie's release would be devastating for the studio, which is citing "fair use" to argue that the design is exempt from copyright law because it's a parody. Wait, this is supposed to be a comedy?
