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Warner Bros. Forced To Fight For Fair Use

Posted by Soulskill on from the crossing-the-aisle dept.

V-similitude writes with news that Warner Bros. has been forced into a position of claiming 'fair use' in the defense of an upcoming movie. From the NYTimes: "In The Hangover Part II, the sequel to the very successful what-happened-last-night comedy, the character played by Ed Helms wakes up with a permanent tattoo bracketing his left eye. The Maori-inspired design is instantly recognizable as the one sported by the boxer Mike Tyson, which is part of the joke. (Mr. Tyson makes an appearance in both films, playing himself.) But S. Victor Whitmill, a tattoo artist formerly of Las Vegas and currently from rural Missouri, doesn't quite see the humor. Mr. Whitmill designed the tattoo for Mr. Tyson, called it 'tribal tattoo,' and claims it as a copyrighted work. ... Warner Brothers in its brief also invoked the 'fair use' defense for Hangover Part II, namely the right to parody what has become a well-known tattoo since it first appeared on Mr. Tyson’s face in February 2003."

5 of 222 comments (clear)

  1. copyrighting meat canvas by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    does this make Mike Tyson a work of art or a piece of work?

  2. oh now I feel dumb by Osgeld · · Score: 5, Funny

    I thought it was the face tattoo from star trek voyager's Chakotay

  3. Whitmill's mistake by frovingslosh · · Score: 4, Funny

    Warner Brothers further stated that Mr. Whitmill failed to use any DRM when creating the tattoo, which would not only have protected the tattoo but also effectively served to keep it out of public domain even after the copyright expires, circumventing the intent of copyright law as spelled out in the Constitution.

    --
    I'm an American. I love this country and the freedoms that we used to have.
    1. Re:Whitmill's mistake by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      But he did include DRM. The DRM was putting it on the infamous boxer Mike Tyson.

  4. Re:Fair use when it suits them by lennier1 · · Score: 3, Funny

    True, one is generating a shitload of money for lawyers and the other ... oh wait! ;)