Celebrity tattoo artist Kat Von D has posted a long video talking about the recent copyright infringement trial over a Miles Davis tattoo in which she says she is “traumatized” from it.
In the seven-minute-long video, Von D slams photographer Jeff Sedlik for bringing the case saying “he saw this as an opportunity to gain publicity.”
Earlier this week, Von D scored a resounding victory in a Los Angeles federal court after the jury took less than three hours to unanimously rule that Von D did not infringe on Sedlik’s copyright when she used his famed 1989 image of jazz musician Davis as the basis of a tattoo on her friend Blake Farmer — that she inked free-of-charge for him.
“As some of you saw, I was in court. I was getting sued by a photographer for a tattoo that I did about seven years ago,” Von D says in the video to her 9.8 million Instagram followers.
“It has been a really heavy week, no, a heavy two years. I think I’m still a little bit traumatized by the entire experience. I have never been sued in my entire life. I’ve never sued anybody, even though I’m sure I definitely have had reason to, but I wouldn’t wish this upon my worst enemy.”
Von D says that she doesn’t have “anything nice to say about this photographer.” Adding, “I knew that if I didn’t fight, the effects of something like this would be so awful for not just tattooers, but artists across the board as well as people who get tattooed and people who love fan art.”
The tattoo artist says she has been “ripped off many times” and adds that a lawsuit such as this “kills the spirit of the creative process and the gift that we’re able to give the people that we tattoo through our interpretations of artwork and photographs and whatever else.”
After the verdict on Monday, Sedlik’s lawyer Robert Allen told reporters that the photographer plans to appeal the verdict.
“Obviously, we’re very disappointed,” Sedlik’s attorney said.
“There are certain issues that never should have gone to the jury. The first, is whether the tattoo and the photograph were substantially similar.
“Not only are they substantially similar, but they’re strikingly similar.”
PetaPixel approached Jeff Sedlik to respond to Von D’s comments but he hasn’t responded as of publication. We will update this article if and when he responds.