In an ongoing pursuit of Intellectual Property law and knowledge base creation, this week’s post looks at some of the most intriguing copyright infringement cases to date.
Coming in at #1 is the case filed by tattoo artist Victor Whitmill against Warner Bros. and its Hangover II movie for copyright infringement of his infamous Mike Tyson face tattoo.
Filed in April 2011 in the Eastern District Court of Missouri, Whitmill and his attorney claimed the infringement lied in the fact that Whitmill retained copyright to the original artwork as evidenced by Mike Tyson’s signature on a binding release upon completion of the tattoo.
In it, the agreement stipulated that Mr. Whitmill retained all rights, and as such prohibited all uses except for Mike Tyson’s personal use. The movie duplicated the tat upon a leading character’s face, and produced legions of promotional materials that include close-up images of the actor and his Mike Tyson copy-tat-face artwork without Mr. Whitmill’s permission.
Judge Perry presided and on May 24th, two days before the film’s opening date, issued a ruling that at once denied Whitmill’s request to enjoin the movie’s open, but also noted the overall merits of his claim as sound and “winnable.” The parties have of course settled for an undisclosed amount.
