Chancer of the week is Mike Tyson's tattooist, who is suing the producers of The Hangover II, in which a character wakes sporting an inking similar to that encircling the former heavyweight champion's left eye. Not only has this S Victor Whitmill accused Warner Bros of "reckless copyright infringement", he has actually attempted to injunct the movie's release.
That demand has been unsuccessful, but it seems the rest of the suit will be rather more of a headache for the studio, with the Missouri-based tattooist's lawyers fuming: "Mr Whitmill has never been asked for permission for, and has never consented to, the use, reproduction or creation of a derivative work based on his original tattoo."
The case hinges on whether or not the movie references to the tattoo could be regarded as a parody, as opposed to mere reproduction – and the judge thinks Whitmill has a likelihood of succeeding.
This seems like excellent news for the legal system – which is, after all, one of things that separates us from the animals. Frankly, Lost in Showbiz had always assumed Whitmill's design for Tyson to be a parody of those sported in cheery 1994 romcom Once Were Warriors, so it looks forward to a whole army of Maoris at a loose end launching a class action against him once he has pocketed his winnings. This could run and run.
