The Mike Tyson tattoo featured in The Hangover Part 2 will remain in the film thanks to an agreement between the tattoo artist and studio.
Let’s call it a draw in the fight between the Mike Tyson tattoo and The Hangover Part II.
Warner Bros. and Missouri tattoo artist S. Victor Whitmill have settled a lawsuit brought by Whitmill which claimed the studio infringed a copyrighted tattoo he created for boxer Mike Tyson.
In The Hangover Part II, the famous Tyson tribal tattoo is worn on the face of star Ed Helms.
“Warner Bros. and Mr. Whitmill have amicably resolved their dispute,” Whitmill’s attorney Geoff Gerber said to SheKnows.com. “No other information will be provided.”
Whitmill claimed that he had “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” in Hangover Part II. He sued to block the release of Hangover Part II in theaters, which has gone on to gross $500 million, but was denied a preliminary injunction on the eve of the release in a U.S. District Court.
Yet, the suit seemed to have weight as U.S. District Court Judge Catherine D. Perry had referred to Warner Bros.’ defense as “silly” in the courtroom, according to a report in The Hollywood Reporter, and the studio was planning to digitally alter the tattoo in the home video version of The Hangover Part II.
Now, there’s no need. That’s a knockout for movie fans.
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