enpan's Patent & Linux practice: 刺青的著作權

2016年2月3日星期三

刺青的著作權 - Solid Oak Sketches v. Take-Two

爭議在Take-Two Interactive Software Inc遊戲公司製作的遊戲NBA 2K16中人物使用了球星（LeBron James, Kobe Bryant等）身上的刺青圖案，結果被告侵害著作權，被告有8個刺青圖案侵權。

（影像來源：https://www.take2games.com/）

這個遊戲顯然是十分傳神，傳神到球員身上的刺青，其中涉及的法條如下，簡單做一些中文標註，顯示刺青也算在著作權的保護標的中，包括刺青是個圖像，並轉換為固定媒體（皮膚）上，如果要使用，顯然也會涉及是否侵害著作權，這對許多刺青師父有些意義，包括自己的權益，自然也包括小心是否侵害別人作品。

17 USC 101 DEFINITIONS （定義著作權）
...
A work is "fixed" in a tangible medium of expression （固定在有形媒體的作品）when its embodiment in a copy or phonorecord, by or under the authority of the author, is sufficiently permanent or stable to permit it to be perceived, reproduced, or otherwise communicated for a period of more than transitory duration. A work consisting of sounds, images, or both, that are being transmitted, is "fixed" for purposes of this title if a fixation of the work is being made simultaneously with its transmission（著作如轉換到固定到特定媒體的聲音、圖像，或兩者組合）.
...
17 USC 102 SUBJECT MATTER OF COPYRIGHT: IN GENERAL （著作權保護標的）
(a) Copyright protection subsists, in accordance with this title, in original works of authorship fixed in any tangible medium of expression, now known or later developed, from which they can be perceived, reproduced, or otherwise communicated, either directly or with the aid of a machine or device. Works of authorship include the following categories:
(1) literary works; （文學作品）
(2) musical works, including any accompanying words;（音樂作品與伴隨的文字）
(3) dramatic works, including any accompanying music;（戲劇作品與伴隨的音樂）
(4) pantomimes and choreographic works;（默劇與編舞作品）
(5) pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works;（繪畫、圖形與雕塑作品）
(6) motion pictures and other audiovisual works;（動畫與影音作品）
(7) sound recordings; and（錄音）
(8) architectural works.（建築）

(b) In no case does copyright protection for an original work of authorship extend to any idea, procedure, process, system, method of operation, concept, principle, or discovery, regardless of the form in which it is described, explained, illustrated, or embodied in such work. （相關衍生工作不受原作品著作權保護）

17 USC 106 EXCLUSIVE RIGHTS IN COPYRIGHTED WORKS（著作權作品的獨佔權）
Subject to sections 107 through 122 [17 USC § §107 through 122], the owner of copyright under this title has the exclusive rights to do and to authorize any of the following:
...
(5) in the case of literary, musical, dramatic, and choreographic works, pantomimes, and pictorial, graphic, or sculptural works, including the individual images of a motion picture or other audiovisual work, to display the copyrighted work publicly; and
...

17 USC 504(c)(2) （每件故意侵權的賠償最高可求償15萬美元）
...
In a case where the copyright owner sustains the burden of proving, and the court finds, that infringement was committed willfully, the court in its discretion may increase the award of statutory damages to a sum of not more than $ 150,000.
...

伴隨著著作權侵權、禁令爭議，這是一個民事求償的訴訟，起因也是因為Take-Two樹大招風，加上這款NBA遊戲大賣（賣了3億多美元），其中促銷的理由還包括了在遊戲中改善球員刺青的視覺訴求。如此，原告Solid Oak Sketches要求每件侵權案繳付侵權與賠償金15萬美元。

如果你只是Lebron James的粉絲，你的模仿應該不會被告：