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10 Lewis & Clark L. Rev. 313 (2006)
Tattoos and Copyright Infringement: Celebrities, Marketers, and Businesses Beware of the Ink

handle is hein.journals/lewclr10 and id is 331 raw text is: TATTOOS AND COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT: CELEBRITIES, MARKETERS, AND BUSINESSES BEWARE OF THE INK by Christopher A. Harkins* Tattoos are almost ubiquitous these days, with body piercing likely following closely behind. With advertising increasingly displaying skin- from hip huggers to cropped shirts to a basketball jersey showing an athlete's tattooed arm-actors, actresses, and sports figures display both forms of body art on television, the silver screen, billboards, and the Internet for consumer product and service providers who hope to benefit from increased sales. But businesses, advertising agencies, and celebrities often lose sight of any interest that tattoo artists may have in the tattoos and body piercings. In this Article, Mr. Harkins uses the recent copyright infringement lawsuit stemming from the advertising use of basketball player Rasheed Wallace's tattoo to analyze the current state of copyright law's application to body art. I. IN TR O D U CTIO N ..................................................................................... 314 II. TATTOO ARTIST LAUNCHES A THREE-POINTER AT NBA STAR RASHEED WALLACE, NIKE, AND AN ADVERTISING A G E N C Y .................................................................................................. 3 15 A . In the Tattoo Parlor ........................................................................... 315 B. From the Basketball Court to the Courtroom .................................... 316 C. An A rm and a Leg? ............................................................................ 317 III. AT LEAST INITIALLY, TATTOOS ARE COPYRIGHTABLE SUBJECT MATTER OWNED BY THE AUTHOR, WHO MAY OBTAIN AND ENFORCE THE COPYRIGHT ....................................... 318 IV. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MAY BELONG TO A HIRING PARTY SUCH AS A CUSTOMER UNDER CERTAIN LIMITED CIRCU M STA N CES .................................................................................. 322 A. Works Made for Hire Belong to the Hiring Party ............................. 324 B. Joint Works Are Co-Owned by the Authors ....................................... 325 C. A Copyright May Be Transferred Before or After the Fact ............... 327 V. FOREW ARNED IS FOREARMED ......................................................... 328 Counsel, Brinks Hofer Gilson & Lione, Chicago, Illinois. Christopher A. Harkins specializes in litigation involving patents, copyrights, and trade secrets, and in prosecuting patent applications in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and worldwide under the Patent Cooperation Treaty. Mr. Harkins may be reached at charkins@usebrinks.com. The views expressed herein are those of the author alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of Brinks Hofer Gilson & Lione or its clients. Copyright ©2006, Christopher A. Harkins, All Rights Reserved.

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