A jury discovered Friday that celeb tattoo artist Kat Von D didn’t violate a photographer’s copyright when she used his portrait of Miles Davis as the premise for a tattoo she placed on the arm of a good friend.
The Los Angeles jury deliberated for simply over two hours earlier than deciding that the tattoo by the previous star of the truth reveals “Miami Ink” and “LA Ink” was not comparable sufficient to photographer Jeffrey Sedlik’s 1989 portrait of the jazz legend that she wanted to have paid permission.
“I’m clearly very joyful for this to be over,” Von D, who inked her good friend’s arm with Davis as a present about seven years in the past, mentioned exterior the courtroom. “It’s been two years of a nightmare worrying about this, not only for myself however for my fellow tattoo artists.”
The eight jurors made the identical choice a few drawing Von D constituted of the portrait to base the tattoo on, and to a number of social media posts she made concerning the course of, which had been additionally a part of Sedlik’s lawsuit. And so they discovered that the tattoo, drawing and posts additionally all fell throughout the authorized doctrine of truthful use of a copyrighted work, giving Von D and different tattoo artists who supported her and adopted the trial a convincing across-the-board victory.
“We’ve mentioned all alongside that this case by no means ought to have been introduced,” Von D’s legal professional Allen B. Grodsky mentioned after the decision. “The jury acknowledged that this was simply ridiculous.”
Sedlik’s legal professional Robert Edward Allen mentioned they plan to enchantment. He mentioned it the pictures, which each featured a close-up of Davis gazing towards the viewer and making a “shh” gesture, had been so comparable he didn’t understand how the jury might attain the conclusion they did.
“If these two issues will not be considerably comparable, then nobody’s artwork is protected,” Allen mentioned.
He informed jurors throughout closing arguments earlier Friday that the case has “nothing to do with tattoos.”
“It’s about copying others’ protected works,” Allen mentioned. “It’s not going to harm the tattoo business. The tattoo police will not be going to come back after anybody.”
Allen emphasised the meticulous work Sedlik did to arrange the shoot, to create the lighting and temper, and to place Davis within the pose that may make for an iconic photograph that was first printed on the quilt of JAZZIZ journal in 1989. Sedlik registered the copyright in 1994.
And he mentioned that subsequently, licensing the picture to others together with tattoo artists was a significant a part of how he made his dwelling.
Von D mentioned throughout the three-day trial that she by no means licenses the pictures she recreates, and he or she considers work just like the Davis tattoo a type of “fan artwork.”
“I made zero cash off it,” she testified. “I’m not mass-producing something. I believe there’s a large distinction.”
Her legal professional Grodsky emphasised for jurors that that lack of an try and money in on the picture was important to the tattoo being a type of truthful use, an exception in copyright regulation used for works together with commentary, criticism and parody.
Allen argued in his closing that the social media posts concerning the tattoo had been a promotion of her and her studio, and thus a type of monetizing the picture.
If jurors had sided with Sedlik, they might have awarded him as little as just a few hundred {dollars} or as a lot as $150,000.
Von D was among the many stars of the truth sequence “Miami Ink” then was the featured artist on its spinoff “LA Ink,” which ran on TLC from 2007 to 2011.
The 41-year-old Von D, whose authorized identify is Katherine von Drachenberg, was already a outstanding younger tattoo artist when she grew to become a TV persona by means of her appearances on TLC’s “Miami Ink” beginning in 2005 on TLC. She was the central star of its spinoff, “LA Ink,” which ran from 2007 to 2011 and made her probably essentially the most well-known tattoo artist within the nation.
Von D mentioned that regardless of the victory, she’s not enthused about getting again to work.
“I believe I don’t wish to ever tattoo once more, my coronary heart has been crushed by means of this in several methods,” she mentioned. “We’ll see with time.”
