LOS ANGELES –
A jury discovered Friday that superstar 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 buddy.
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 related sufficient to photographer Jeffrey Sedlik’s 1989 portrait of the jazz legend that she wanted to have paid permission.
“I am clearly very completely satisfied for this to be over,” Von D, who inked her buddy’s arm with Davis as a present about seven years in the past, stated outdoors the courtroom. “It has 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 couple of drawing Von D constituted of the portrait to base the tattoo on, and to a number of social media posts she made in regards to the course of, which have 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 powerful across-the-board victory.
“We have stated all alongside that this case by no means ought to have been introduced,” Von D’s lawyer Allen B. Grodsky stated after the decision. “The jury acknowledged that this was simply ridiculous.”
Sedlik’s lawyer Robert Edward Allen stated they plan to attraction. He stated it the pictures, which each featured a close-up of Davis gazing towards the viewer and making a “shh” gesture, have been so related he did not know the way the jury may attain the conclusion they did.
“If these two issues will not be considerably related, then nobody’s artwork is protected,” Allen stated.
He advised jurors throughout closing arguments earlier Friday that the case has “nothing to do with tattoos.”
“It is about copying others’ protected works,” Allen stated. “It isn’t going to harm the tattoo business. The tattoo police will not be going to return after anybody.”
