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  • FRIDAY MARCH 10 2006 12:56 PM

SuicideGirl Gets Tattoo Copyrighted

Submitted by susannah_breslin

Edited by susannah_breslin

Last Monday, SuicideGirl Amina Munster received her official certificate of registration from the United States Copyright Office to copyright the "DEAD MEN TELL NO TALES" tattoo on her chest. Needled recounts the controversy behind the story that started when Amina's custom tattoo was, she says, plagiarized by another tattoo artist. Marisa DiMattia, Needled's editor and an attorney who covered "The Tattoo Copyright Controversy" in the past, reports: "Hell hath no fury like a Suicide Girl scorned."

Rock-n-Roll pin-up queen Amina Munster says on her Suicide Girl page that she's into "intoxicants, shotguns, and hockey." Clearly not the type of woman you should mess with. Amina also holds sacred her tattoo art, particularly her signature Dead Men Tell No Tales chestpiece created by Tim Kern of Last Rites in September 2004. One year later, her custom tattoo was plagiarized by California tattooist Brandon Swartz. She called Swartz expecting an apology but received insults and threats.

Instead of shoving her prosthetic leg up Swartz's anal cavity, however, she took action to ensure that no one would rip off her custom body art again: She registered her tattoo with the US Copyright Office.

I wrote the Tattoo Copyright Controversy for BMEzine in 2003 to discuss various intellectual property issues that could arise in the context of tattoos. At that point, I didn't take a position either way -- in favor or against -- registering tattoos with the US Copyright Office. It was just an idea.

Over time, I grew to support the idea of copyright registration protection for tattoos, particularly after hearing offensive stories of blatant tattoo theft and also having my husband's work ripped off numerous times. When I discussed the idea with other lawyers, however, many were skeptical. I was told that there was no way the US Copyright Office would accept registration of a tattoo design on skin.

But it did. So allow me this one smug moment to tell them: I told you so.

This past Monday, March 6th, 2006, Amina Munster received her Certificates of Copyright: one for the drawing itself and one for the actual tattoo. [The recorded date of registration by the Copyright Office is October 4th, 2005.]

By registering her tattoo, Amina has sought to protect her rights as well as educate people that custom tattoos hold deep meaning to many and should never be copied. She's also sending a message to unscrupulous tattooists who tattoo the designs of others that they will suffer financial damage as well as damage to reputation.

Amina holds the sole rights to her tattoo art after an agreement with her artist Tim Kern. But Tim also feels strongly against tattoo theft. Here's what he said:

"Amina's chest piece was based loosely on other art, and adapted to be an original design, specifically for HER, to fit her body. I spent many hours making sure the design was just right....Seeing someone else rip off our tattoo makes me sick to my stomach. I've been tattooing for ten years. I know that tattoos get copied and usually poorly. The Internet is rampant with examples of this.["]

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pavlovsdog

pavlovsdog

Asheville, NC
May 2004

MAR 10, 2006 02:02 PM

Does this mean she has to get the © symbol and the date tattooed on her too?

Cigarette

Cigarette

Cleveland, OH
April 2004

MAR 10, 2006 02:02 PM

PointBlank said:
Third, if i draw a copy of a trademarked album cover and hang it on my wall, I'm not breaking a law (again, to the best of my knowledge--which is pretty poor) but I can't profit or exhibit it...how is a tattoo different?


I presume the tattoo artist is getting paid to copy the tattoo... I would think that if a tattoo artist was given a photo of someone's tattoo like, say, this...


and a tattoo artist produces something like this..


that would be copyright infringement.

Now if the guy copied the image to paper and handed the paper to the tattoo artist claiming it was his own work, I don't think the artist could be held responsible.

PointBlank

PointBlank

New York, NY
November 2004

MAR 10, 2006 02:03 PM

flowerofromance said:

PointBlank said:
I'm also wondering, isn't there something in trademark law where you have to take legal action against anyone infringing or the copyright is no longer valid? I'm really curious...also, how much would one tattoo have to differ from this one to be considered outside the trademark?

Third, if i draw a copy of a trademarked album cover and hang it on my wall, I'm not breaking a law (again, to the best of my knowledge--which is pretty poor) but I can't profit or exhibit it...how is a tattoo different?



Egg-sacked-a-mundo.


That's not really an answer, you know...wink

I'm really not trying to make a statement, but I'm really curious as to the legal aspects.

Cigarette

Cigarette

Cleveland, OH
April 2004

MAR 10, 2006 02:04 PM

Lissom said:
As for the inspiration for Amina's design, I got the impression that a few different art works contributed to the final image, all of which were changed and rearranged substantially. Amina's design may even be unrecogniseable from the original stimulus.


As a matter of fact...

PointBlank

PointBlank

New York, NY
November 2004

MAR 10, 2006 02:04 PM

Ahh, that makes sense, Clov.


Tattoos and the law: it's like the nexus of my ignorance.

Iseult

Iseult

United Kingdom
September 2005

MAR 10, 2006 02:07 PM

Clov said:

Lissom said:
As for the inspiration for Amina's design, I got the impression that a few different art works contributed to the final image, all of which were changed and rearranged substantially. Amina's design may even be unrecogniseable from the original stimulus.


As a matter of fact...


Ah, I stand corrected. I did say, "I got the impression." Not that I was certain.

Cigarette

Cigarette

Cleveland, OH
April 2004

MAR 10, 2006 02:08 PM

PointBlank said:

flowerofromance said:

PointBlank said:
I'm also wondering, isn't there something in trademark law where you have to take legal action against anyone infringing or the copyright is no longer valid? I'm really curious...also, how much would one tattoo have to differ from this one to be considered outside the trademark?

Third, if i draw a copy of a trademarked album cover and hang it on my wall, I'm not breaking a law (again, to the best of my knowledge--which is pretty poor) but I can't profit or exhibit it...how is a tattoo different?



Egg-sacked-a-mundo.


That's not really an answer, you know...wink

I'm really not trying to make a statement, but I'm really curious as to the legal aspects.


I've heard of TRADEMARKS having to be protected lest they fall into the public domain. Coke, Xerox, and Kleenex will all write you letters asking you to refrain from using their trademarked names as generic names. For example, if you wrote a magazine article that says, "I reached for a kleenex as I xeroxed my ass..." they'll ask you to, in the future, capitalize it and indicate that it is trademarked. Otherwise, they'd rather you use the generic words, such as "tissue" and "photocopy".

Cigarette

Cigarette

Cleveland, OH
April 2004

MAR 10, 2006 02:08 PM

Lissom said:

Clov said:

Lissom said:
As for the inspiration for Amina's design, I got the impression that a few different art works contributed to the final image, all of which were changed and rearranged substantially. Amina's design may even be unrecogniseable from the original stimulus.


As a matter of fact...


Ah, I stand corrected. I did say, "I got the impression." Not that I was certain.


I was just sayin', is all.

Iseult

Iseult

United Kingdom
September 2005

MAR 10, 2006 02:10 PM

Clov said:

Lissom said:

Clov said:

Lissom said:
As for the inspiration for Amina's design, I got the impression that a few different art works contributed to the final image, all of which were changed and rearranged substantially. Amina's design may even be unrecogniseable from the original stimulus.


As a matter of fact...


Ah, I stand corrected. I did say, "I got the impression." Not that I was certain.


I was just sayin', is all.


Oh, I know! I'm glad you brought it to my attention. smile

PointBlank

PointBlank

New York, NY
November 2004

MAR 10, 2006 02:13 PM

Another stupid question (as I know nothing of tattoos nor the difference, apparently, between copyrights and trademarks): is the tattoo copyrighted or the work of art? And does that basically boil down to the same thing?

PointBlank

PointBlank

New York, NY
November 2004

MAR 10, 2006 02:14 PM

And, what about this poor sod:

SPOILERS! (Click to view)


Iseult

Iseult

United Kingdom
September 2005

MAR 10, 2006 02:15 PM

PointBlank said:
Another stupid question (as I know nothing of tattoos nor the difference, apparently, between copyrights and trademarks): is the tattoo copyrighted or the work of art? And does that basically boil down to the same thing?


Both, according to the OP.

Iseult

Iseult

United Kingdom
September 2005

MAR 10, 2006 02:16 PM

PointBlank said:
And, what about this poor sod:

SPOILERS! (Click to view)



biggrin

priapus

priapus

I'm lost
January 2004

MAR 10, 2006 02:17 PM

Nixon said:
Go Amina! As far as I'm concerned, a custom tat is very much akin to a logo.



A logo is a trademark (think of the SG logo with the ponytail hottie and the sparkling stars).

And a registered trademark can be protected, and damages can be recovered from anyone who uses a trademark without the holder's permission. Something similiar is available for copyright, but I'm not certain of the differences in enforcement.

And yes, a trademark or copyright holder has to act to protect their rights, but a registration carries a lot of weight in court. Failure to act will be considered a waiver of your rights, but I think you have to have knowledge of the use.

Now the boring legalese from Basic Facts About Registering a Trademark*:

A trademark is different from a copyright or patent. A copyright protects an original artistic or literary work; a patent protects an invention.

There are two related but distinct types of rights in a mark: the right to register and the right to use. [text deleted for brevity] Only a court can render a decision about the right to use, such as issuing an injunction or awarding damages for infringement. It should be noted that a federal registration can provide significant advantages to a party involved in a court proceeding.

Unlike copyrights or patents, trademark rights can last indefinitely if the owner continues to use the mark to identify its goods of services.

Once again, copyrights are different, but I don't think they are significantly different.

*Published by the U.S. Dept of Commerce/Patent and Trademark Office. I just happened to have one in my office.

[Edited on Mar 10, 2006 by priapus]

nonbillable

nonbillable

Brooklyn, NY
September 2004

MAR 10, 2006 02:18 PM

Clov said:
Now if the guy copied the image to paper and handed the paper to the tattoo artist claiming it was his own work, I don't think the artist could be held responsible.


Actually, according to the article cited above, he would still be liable, but damages would probably be reduced, possibly to as low as $200.

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