In 2017, celebrity tattoo artist Kat Von D shared an image to her social media accounts: a portrait of Miles Davis she’d inked on a customer’s arm at her West Hollywood shop High Voltage Tattoo. Now she’s being sued over that tat. As Billboard reports, photographer Jeffrey Sedlik filed a 31-page complaint in California federal court Sunday, in which he claims the tattoo constitutes copyright infringement of his image. Sedlik alleges he is the sole and exclusive owner of the copyright for the image, which he shot in 1989. It originally appeared in an Aug. 1989 cover story in JAZZIZ magazine.

In the lawsuit, Sedlik claims 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 alleges that by posting an image of the tattoo to her socials and tagging High Voltage Tattoo, Von D was using his copyrighted photograph to promote her business. He adds in a statement to Billboard:

Plaintiff Jeffrey Sedlik reached out to Kat Von D “artist to artist” (through her representatives) seeking an amicable resolution of the matter prior to filing suit, but Ms. Von Drachenberg chose to ignore Mr. Sedlik’s good faith effort to avoid litigation. As the holder of a valid copyright in the Iconic Miles Davis Portrait, Mr. Sedlik has the sole and exclusive right of reproduction, publication and the creation of derivative works.

As an artist herself, Ms. Von Drachenberg is well aware that creators like Mr. Sedlik rely on revenue received for the use of their works of art to support themselves and their families. Regrettably, Ms. Von Drachenberg chose not to contact Mr. Sedlik prior to making the numerous unauthorized reproductions and derivative works of his 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 her own, distributing photographs of her unlawful derivate work to millions of social media followers, and supplying those photographs to publishers 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, exploiting the value of Mr. Sedlik’s photograph to build her brand and to promote the sale of her products and services.

Kat Von D has not responded to Billboard‘s request for a response.

https://twitter.com/thekatvond/status/864536718942257152