The Copyrightability of Tattoos: A Practical Examination of Law Cases

Abstract

In the recent years, tattoo has become a trend and, as each subject which becomes a mass product, it has begun concerning areas of science. One of the major areas it is being linked to, is law science and more precisely intellectual property rights. It concerns intellectual property because each tattoo design can be considered as an original work of art protected by law. The major concern of law protection arises from the fact that the tattoos are depicted in other cases for commercial reasons. In this paper we will examine the basic legal dispute as to whether the tattoos can be considered as works of art and as to whether the intellectual property rules can be applied in their case.