To the chagrin of many a tattoo aficionado, there is a chance that ink based works that have been a hallmark of self-expression and identity may now be subject to copyright. Apparently in the United States, courts have begun to extend copyright protection to works done by tattoo artists. Thus, like with any copyrighted item, a tattoo artist may need a license or pay royalties to other artists to use their work.
I think the issue of tattooing brings up a lot of questions. For example, it does seem that a Tattoo would be affixed once it is in the skin; however, what happens if someone were to have the tattoo removed? In addition, people often get very similar tattoo’s depending on what period they are in. In the early 2000’s there were tons of people walking around with “tribal tattoo’s”. In the mid 2010’s there were plenty of people getting very similar designs involving motifs of mountains, trees, and animals. Who would thus own the copyright in these instances?
What is funnier is that courts in the United States were called upon to deliberate copyright of tattoos in Video-Games –– particularly in NBA2K.
As the article says, the issue of copyrighting tattoos will most likely make its way through Canadian courts soon. It will be interesting to see how the courts reason through works done on a human canvas.
If you want to read more, here’s the article that discusses this issue more in depth: https://www.cbabc.org/BarTalk/Articles/2023/August/Features/Copyright-and-Tattoos.
Communications Law
Very cool article. Actually I can’t see why tattoos wouldn’t be copyrighted. Many are true art forms. So who would own the copyright though? The tattoo artist or the person displaying the tattoo? How much of the tattoo would need to be altered to pass the substantially different test. What if the tattoo owner wanted to change or add to the tattoo– would they be allowed to?
So many questions!
Doris