3 Count: Substantially Unsimilar

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1: Kat Von D Wins Copyright Trial Over Miles Davis Tattoo

First off today, Sopan Deb at The New York Times reports that celebrity tattoo artist Kat Von D has emerged victorious in a lawsuit filed against her by a photographer, who alleges that she infringed an image he took of musician Miles Davis when creating a tattoo for a friend.

The photographer, Jeffrey Sedlik, alleged that Von D used his image when creating a tattoo for a friend. He further alleges that the tattoo was widely shared on social media and used to promote her business. Von D, on the other hand, argued that her use of the image was a fair use and that the tattoo was not infringing.

The jury took only two hours to decide the case and, while not commenting on the issue of fair use, found that the tattoo was not substantially similar to the original work. A lawyer representing Sediik has promised to appeal, saying that the issue of substantial similarity should not have been put in front of the jury.

2: Artist Richard Prince Settles ‘New Portraits’ Copyright Suits, Owes Photographers Thousands in Damages

Next up today, Erik Uebelacker at Courthouse News Service reports that a pair of photographers have reached a settlement with appropriation artist Richard Prince over his use of their images as part of a “New Portraits” series of works.

The first of the lawsuits was filed in 2016 and alleged that Prince committed copyright infringement by taking photos they had uploaded to Instagram and then blowing them up to poster size with an added comment by Prince himself. Prince argued that this was a fair use and that he was offering commentary or criticism of the works.

However, a judge declined to issue a summary judgement in Prince’s favor last year, setting the stage for a possible trial. Now the three parties have reached a settlement, with the judge handing down a pair of judgements as part of it. Those judgements find that Prince’s use was not a fair use and orders the artist to pay five times the sale price of the works in damages.

3: Dark And Darker Devs Share Good News On Lawsuit That Kicked Them Off Steam

Finally today, Rhiannon Bevan at The Gamer reports that Ironmace, the makers of the video game Dark and Darker, have announced a legal victory in South Korea in their long running battle against Nexon.

Ironmace was founded by developers who previously worked at Nexon. Nexon alleged that they took trade secrets and copyright-protected code when leaving the company and used it to create Dark and Darker. This led to multiple lawsuits and the game being removed from Steam.

However, according to Ironmace, a South Korean court has denied an injunction requested by Nexon, finding that there is no significant enough evidence of infringement to warrant such an injunction. Nexon’s lawsuit in the United States had been previously dismissed, making this the only active case. It is unclear if this means Dark and Darker will return to Steam.

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