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In 2017, famous tattoo artist Kat Von D shared an image on her social media accounts: a portrait of Miles Davis that she had inked on a client’s arm at her West Hollywood High Voltage Tattoo store. Now she is being sued for this state. As Billboard reports, photographer Jeffrey Sedlik filed a 31-page lawsuit in California federal court on Sunday in which he claims the tattoo violates the copyright of his image. Sedlik alleges that he is the sole and exclusive copyright owner of the image, which he took in 1989. It originally appeared in an August 1989 cover story in JAZZIZ magazine.
In the lawsuit, Sedlik claims that Von D, real name Katherine Von Drachenberg, did not apply for any of the non-exclusive copyright licenses he sometimes sells for reproductions of the image. He also alleges that by posting an image of the tattoo on his social media and tagging High Voltage Tattoo, Von D was using his copyrighted photograph to promote his business. It adds in a statement to Billboard:
Plaintiff Jeffrey Sedlik contacted Kat Von D “artist to artist” (through her representatives) to seek an amicable resolution of the matter before bringing an action, but Ms. Von Drachenberg chose to ignore Mr. Sedlik’s good faith efforts to avoid litigation. As the holder of a valid copyright in the iconic portrait of Miles Davis, Mr. Sedlik has the sole and exclusive right of reproduction, publication and creation of derivative works.
As an artist herself, Ms. Von Drachenberg is well aware that creators like Mr. Sedlik rely on the income received for the use of their works of art to support themselves and their families. Sadly, Ms. Von Drachenberg chose not to contact Mr. Sedlik prior to making the many unauthorized reproductions and derivative works of his iconic portrait of Miles Davis, as described in the complaint.
Ms. Von Drachenberg not only used Mr. Sedlik’s photograph without permission or license, but took credit for Mr. Sedlik’s creation as her own, distributing photographs of his illegal derivative work to millions of followers of the social media and providing these photographs to editors for inclusion. promotional editorials on Ms. Von Drachenberg and her various business ventures.
Ms. Von Drachenberg did not respect the creative work of another artist and chose to monetize Mr. Sedlik’s iconic photo for her personal financial gain, harnessing the value of Mr. Sedlik’s photography to build his brand and promote the sale of its products and services.
Kat Von D did not respond to Billboardresponse request from.
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