In 2017, celebrity tattoo artist Kat Von D shared an image on her social media accounts: a portrait of Miles Davis that she had done on the arm of a client at her High Voltage Tattoo store in West Hollywood. Now she is being sued for this tattoo. Like Advertising panel reports, photographer Jeffrey Sedlik filed a 31-page complaint in California’s federal court on Sunday, in which he claims the tattoo constitutes copyright infringement of his image. Sedlik claims to be the sole and exclusive owner of the copyright to the image, which he filmed in 1989. It originally appeared in an August 1989 cover story in JAZZIZ magazine.
In the process, Sedlik claims that Von D, real name Katherine Von Drachenberg, did not apply for one of the non-exclusive copyright licenses he sometimes sells for reproductions of the image. He also claims 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 Advertising panel:
Applicant Jeffrey Sedlik contacted Kat Von D “artist for artist” (through his representatives) seeking an amicable resolution of the issue before filing the case, but Ms. Von Drachenberg chose to ignore the effort in good faith Mr. Sedlik to avoid litigation. As the holder of valid copyright on the Iconic Miles Davis Portrait, Mr. Sedlik has the sole and exclusive right to reproduce, publish and create derivative works.
As an artist, Ms. Von Drachenberg is well aware that creators like Sedlik depend on the revenue they receive for using their works of art to support themselves and their families. Unfortunately, Ms. Von Drachenberg chose not to contact Mr. Sedlik before making the numerous unauthorized reproductions and derivative works of her Iconic Miles Davis Portrait, 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 his own, distributing photographs of his illegal derivative work to millions of social media followers and providing these photographs to the editors for inclusion of promotional editorials about Ms. Von Drachenberg and her various commercial ventures.
Ms. Von Drachenberg failed to respect the creative work of a fellow artist and chose to monetize Mr. Sedlik’s iconic photograph for her personal financial gain, exploring the value of Mr. Sedlik’s photography to build her brand and promote the sale of your products and services.
Kat Von D did not respond to Advertising panelrequest for a reply from.