A jury determined on Friday that famous tattoo artist Kat Von D was not infringing upon the copyright of a photographer when she created a tattoo on a friend’s arm based on his image of Miles Davis.
After deliberating for more than two hours, the Los Angeles jury determined that the tattoo, gotten by the former cast member of the reality TV series “Miami Ink” and “LA Ink,” was not sufficiently comparable to photographer Jeffrey Sedlik’s 1989 shot of the jazz great to require her to have paid for permission.
Outside the courthouse, Von D, who had Davis inscribed on her friend’s arm as a gift almost seven years prior, declared, “I’m very happy for this to be over.” “Worrying about this has been a nightmare for the past two years, not only for myself but also for my fellow tattoo artists.”
Regarding a drawing, Von D based the tattoo on the portrait, as well as several social media posts she published regarding the procedure, which were also included in Sedlik’s lawsuit, the eight jurors reached the same conclusion. Furthermore, it was determined that the tattoo, drawing, and posts were all permissible under the legal principle of fair use of a copyrighted work. This resulted in an unequivocal victory for Von D and other tattoo artists who supported her and followed the trial.
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“We’ve always maintained that this case should never have been brought,” Allen B. Grodsky, Von D’s attorney, stated following the verdict. “The jury agreed that this was completely absurd.”
Attorney Robert Edward Allen for Sedlik stated that an appeal is imminent. He stated that the close-up photographs of Davis, both of which featured a “shh” gesture and were directed toward the viewer, were so similar that he could not fathom how the jury could have arrived at the same conclusion.
Allen underscored the scrupulous effort Sedlik devoted to arranging the session, establishing the ambiance and lighting, and positioning Davis in the position that would result in the seminal photograph that debuted on the cover of JAZZIZ magazine in 1989. The patent was registered by Sedlik in 1994.