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Are tattoos protected by copyright? If so, can a person give a third party permission to use their likeness (which includes displaying the tattoos attached to their body) without the consent of the tattoo artist who realized said tattoos? These intriguing questions have been raised in a number of jurisdictions  [see IPKat posts  here ,  here ,  here ,  here ,  here ,  here ,  here ; see also  here  for the (in)famous tattoo copyright headache surrounding  The Hangover - Part II ]  though conclusive answers were not really provided … at least until very recently. Earlier this week, in fact, the US District Court for the Southern District of New York issued its  much-awaited summary judgment opinion (16-CV-724-LTS-SDA)  in the (long-standing) proceedings initiated by a company (Solid Oak), which seemingly holds an exclusive copyright licence in the tattoos of NBA players  Eric Bledsoe ,  LeBron James...

LeBron James's avatar in NBA 2K18 Copyright and tattoos is one of The IPKat’s favourite topics. Over time a few posts have been devoted to exploring the intricacies of copyright law as applied to this type of works: see, eg  here ,   here ,  here ,  here ,  here ,  here ,  here . However, as Jeremy  recalled   - despite all this interest - The IPKat sports no tattoos,  not least because of the mess it would make of the fur. Having said so, tattoos are artistic works with no particular features, if not the medium they are attached to, ie the human body. From a copyright standpoint, issues might arise in a number of circumstances, including when: The owner of the body (clearly a tangible medium) on which the tattoo is affixed is not  also  the owner of the copyright in the work (the tattoo); The tattoo reproduced on someone's body is an infringing copy of a third-party copyright work. While the f...