Tattoos, Norms, and Implied Licenses
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2023
Abstract
This Essay considers the legal questions raised by the recent flurry of tattoo copyright litigation and its intersection with the industry norms I've detailed in prior work. In particular, I argue that public displays, reproductions, derivative works, and other uses of tattoo designs fall within the scope of a broad implied license when they are employed to accurately depict the body of a tattooed person. Such licenses are widely—if not universally—accepted within the tattoo industry and an expected part of the bargain between the tattooer and her client. More fundamentally, a norm of bodily autonomy is at the core of tattooing as a social practice, and assertions of copyright are inconsistent with this central purpose. The attempted erosion of these norms, while it may serve the short term interests of a handful of opportunistic plaintiffs, will likely do considerable harm to the tattoo industry more broadly by disrupting reasonable expectations, imposing new administrative costs, and exposing tattooers to greater legal risk.
Recommended Citation
Perzanowski, Aaron, "Tattoos, Norms, and Implied Licenses" (2023). Public Law & Legal Theory Working Papers. 95.
https://repository.law.umich.edu/pub_law_archive/95