The Hangover Part II could still have its release date delayed due to the ongoing copyright court case involving Mike Tyson’s tattooist. S. Victor Whimill has filed legal papers stating that the film should be banned due to copyright infringements. Whitmill believes that the artistic rights of Mike Tyson’s facial tattoo are owned by him and that the producers are legally liable for replicating it in the comedy sequel.
Warner Bros. have responded to these “radical” claims and have insisted that the request is rejected by the courts. A legal brief for the company says, "The very 'copyrightability' of tattoos is a novel issue, there is no legal precedent for the Plaintiff's radical claim that he is entitled, under the Copyright Act, to control the use of a tattoo that he created on the face of another human being."
The company believes the court should dismiss the case on a variety of grounds including the fact that Mike Tyson appears in the film himself. Warner Bros. also state that the financial loss from the delay of the film’s release would be “unrecoverable” unless Whitmill puts up a $100million bond. A decision is likely to be made by the court later this week before The Hangover Part II is due for release (May 26th).
