[Answerland] Question to answer: tattoos and copyright

[Tamara Ottum]

Thanks to Lee @ Washington County Law Library for answering this question!

Details from the answer, FYI:

I found a short article in the Houston Chronicle that addresses this question: "Do Tattoos Infringe on Copyright<https://smallbusiness.chron.com/tattoos-infringe-copyrights-48743.html>."

An intellectual property blog also discusses copyright and tattoos: "Copyright and Tattoos: Who owns your ink?<https://www.ipwatchdog.com/2018/07/26/copyright-tattoos-who-owns-your-ink/id=99500/>"

The short answer, as with most legal question, is it depends. There are different variables to consider, such as whether it is "fair use" and if it impacts the profits of the copyright holder.

For more in-depth information on copyright laws, I recommend Nolo Press books such as "The Copyright Handbook" or "Patent, Copyright, & Trademark." These and other resources can be accessed online through the State of Oregon Law Library<https://soll.libguides.com/index>, or possibly in print at your local public library. The Lane County Law Library<https://lanecounty.org/cms/one.aspx?pageId=4081120> will have more in-depth materials covering copyright laws.

There may also be scholar legal articles (law reviews) that discuss this issue. One example is "Written on the Body: Intellectual Property Rights in Tattoos, Makeup, and Other Body Art," (10 UCLA Ent. L. Rev. 97). A law library can help you find and access such articles.


From: Tamara Ottum
Sent: Monday, February 4, 2019 8:37 AM
To: answerland at listsmart.osl.state.or.us
Subject: Question to answer: tattoos and copyright

Good morning Answerlanders,

A patron is looking for our help:

"I'm curious about copyright laws with the reproduction of art and quotes when used in tattoos. I know that people will often use art/quote created by someone other than themselves or their tattoo artists when selecting a piece and I was curious if this was an infringement of any copyright laws. Thanks for your help!"

You can find this question (#14274749) in the Shared Followup list in QuestionPoint.

To add a note:
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To send a response to the patron:
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-Tamara

Tamara Ottum
Answerland Coordinator
answerland.org<https://answerland.org/>
State Library of Oregon | Library Support & Development Services
tamara.ottum at state.or.us<mailto:tamara.ottum at state.or.us> | 503-378-6506<tel:%20(503)%20378-6506> | www.oregon.gov/library<http://www.oregon.gov/library>


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