If you are reading this, there is undoubtedly some piece of artwork that you’ve seen that you’d like to have permanently etched onto your skin. However, you have concluded that there is also possibly a tiny issue. Is it possible to walk into a tattoo parlor and ask a tattoo artist to replicate an existing design on your body with only minor or no modifications?
Where does the issue of copyright law come in? Is it just rude and disrespectful to ask for something like this?
If you were to think about the problem of duplicating tattoos, you certainly wouldn’t be the first or the last person to do so. The tattoo community places much importance on this matter. In the following lines, we will share more information on this subject.
By doing so, you can steer clear of copyright concerns and infractions of the same law. So, without further ado, let’s get the ball rolling here, shall we?
Inspiration and the Violation of Copyright Laws Concerning Tattoos
The Meaning of Inspiration Exposed
It would be good to start this conversation by talking about how you can get ideas from another piece of art or tattoo.
Everyone gets their motivation for living from another person, typically in the form of the work of others. In the interim, though, one of our goals is to break away from the source of our inspiration and develop our very own idea that will never be replicated by anyone else.
The thing that has prompted you to engage in activities of a similar nature is the source of inspiration. Nevertheless, you’ve made some one-of-a-kind additions and alterations to the recently created piece of artwork, which helps distinguish it as being uniquely yours. However, even in the case of inspiration, it is pretty essential to speak out about the individual or work of art that has the potential to inspire or impact you.
Plagiarism happens when an original piece of art is made with ideas from another piece of art, but without making any changes or additions to the original piece.
This is true for any creative endeavor, whether it be a song, a text for a book, a painting, or an artwork design for a tattoo. It doesn’t matter. Some people believe that there is no significant difference between being inspired by the work of another person and replicating that work. The two ideas couldn’t be more dissimilar, and the urge to keep the origin of one’s inspiration a secret is typically what drives people to highlight the former.
Copying (Copyright Violation) – Explained
Now that we understand what it means to be inspired, let’s take a closer look at what it means to imitate. It couldn’t be easier. Let’s say you’ve seen another person’s work, and then you try to pass it off as your own by copying it or using it directly in some way. In this situation, we’re talking about copying and breaking laws about copyright.
Let’s not get the idea in our heads that learning new skills and growing as an artist requires duplicating the work of others. However, it is always necessary to call attention to and give credit to the work’s original author. In addition, you are not permitted to claim that work as your own or make any financial gain from it.
The issue of copyright infringement is straightforward to comprehend. You violate copyright laws if, for example, you make use of another person’s work and pass it on while profiting from it without crediting the source of the original work.
Tattoo Copying
Two different kinds of imitations can be made when it comes to tattoos:
- The reproduction of an already-existing work of art is not associated with tattooing.
- Plagiarism is when you use a tattoo design that belongs to another tattoo artist and copy it without their permission.
Consequently, if you decide to get a tattoo depicting, for example, a picture by Claude Monet and then ask your tattoo artist to recreate the same design, we are talking about copying. On the other hand, this does not constitute an infringement of copyright if, for instance, your tattoo is not utilized as an advertisement. And naturally, the artist, not your tattooist, is the one who owns the intellectual property rights to this tattoo.
On the other hand, the problem of copying is readily solved because the original artist, who passed away many years ago, cannot grant authorization for the use of his work.
On the other hand, if you walk into a tattoo parlor to get the same tattoo as another person, you are crossing into the territory of copying. In this scenario, copying would involve no creative involvement; the original artist would not have been sought for approval; and the design or layout of the tattoo would be identical.
Copyright infringement would be considerably more severe if the copied tattoo design were used for commercial purposes. In this case, the original tattoo artist would have a very good reason to go to court.
If You Ask a Tattoo Artist to Copy Another Tattoo, Is That Considered Rude?
Of course, that is the case! A request of this nature is considered impolite and insulting on various levels.
To begin with, you are directly or indirectly putting your tattoo artist in a position where they could be in serious legal trouble. Imagine for a moment that the design of your wish tattoo turns out to be stolen.
The original tattoo artist is opposed to it being used again and has expressed their disapproval. If that were the case, the tattoo artist who did your work might be subject to copyright litigation, which they would undoubtedly lose.
In addition, you are being quite impolite by asking a tattoo artist to demean the work of a fellow tattoo artist or another, as this is one of their jobs.
But What Can You Do To Prevent Others From Copying Your Work?
As was noted before, getting ideas from other people’s work is neither illegal nor a problem, legally speaking, so long as there is creative output and input from your end.
Therefore, what you can do, therefore, if you’ve discovered a beautiful tattoo design is as follows:
- Make contact with the artist; look for their email address or find them on social media and contact them there.
- Please ask the creator of the original work for permission to use parts of their work in your idea.
- Always be sure that you are communicating with the appropriate individual; if not, you could get into some legal issues.
- Make sure that the tattoo artist is the one who came up with the idea for the design; sometimes tattoo artists aren’t aware that they’ve duplicated the concept or the work of another artist.
- Make it a point to discuss your objectives and concepts with the person doing your tattoo. Tell them what you want to do and ask them if they mind if you give them creative suggestions.
- Always be prepared for a negative response from the original artist; people take incredible pride in their work, and we have to respect their decision if they don’t want their work appearing elsewhere.
You can also approach the tattoo artist who did the original work and request that they create a design that is conceptually comparable to the one you’ve chosen for motivation. You might even consider suggesting that the two of them work together on the new design; this way, the ownership of the idea will be shared between the two of you. It’s possible that by using this strategy, you can acquire the tattoo of your dreams without infringing on the intellectual property rights of another person.
In addition, by doing things this way, you won’t risk disrespecting the tattoo artist who was supposed to “draw inspiration from” or “copy” a specific tattoo design.
How Can One Prevent Others From Copying Their Tattoos?
Suppose you deliberately use another artist’s work without giving credit to the original creator or source. In that case, you are not deterring others from stealing your designs.
However, if you want to do things the right way, there are some things you can do to prevent copyright issues and tattoo theft. If you want to do things the right way, here are some things you can do.
As a customer, you are expected to:
- Always try to get unique tattoo designs from the artist you choose.
- If you find a design that you like, you should let your tattoo artist know that another artist created the approach used in the design.
- Always get in touch with the artist who did the original tattoo and ask permission to utilize the original form or modify it somehow.
- If you want to avoid infringing on anyone’s copyright, you could try purchasing existing designs and images.
It would help if you did the following as a tattoo artist:
- Always try to learn more about other tattoo artists, their work, the tattoo industry, and laws about copyright.
- Always include a watermark on any original designs you create, and make sure to do so before uploading them online.
- By paying attention to the work you upload online, you may showcase your talent and originality without giving away too much of your original creations, thereby reducing the risk of intellectual property theft.
- If someone contacts you about using your work, investigate how they might alter the design. Maintain an open mind if the person only receives ideas from other sources.
The Crux of the Matter
It is a severe offense and gross disrespect to the entire tattoo community to steal the tattoo designs created by others and then ask a tattoo artist to utilize them in your work. It is difficult to determine the origin of every tattoo design, and the primary reason is that most people do not reveal the source of their ideas. However, it is the responsibility of tattoo artists to inspect the designs their customers bring in to determine whether the methods are another tattoo artist’s intellectual property.
Indeed, as a customer, you, too, are responsible for paying attention to the designs you want to employ and conducting research into the origin of those designs. It is vital to disclose either the fact that a particular method was initially created by another artist or to state that you cannot identify the source of the design or the artist who created it. No matter what, you should not ask your tattoo artist to make a copy of an existing tattoo.
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