Thursday, January 10, 2013

Run Ricky Run!

Ricky Williams is a famously enigmatic running back. He is one of 27 people to rush for more than 10,000 yards at the pro level. His 2002 campaign was fantastic: he led the league in rushing with 1853 yards (14th most in a single season) and in carries with 383 (14th most in one season), had 2216 yards from scrimmage (20th most in a single season), scored 17 touchdowns, and was first-team All Pro.


Things went downhill from there, perhaps because he carried the ball 392 times the next year (7th most ever in a season). That's 775 attempts in two years. I think that's the most carries ever in consecutive seasons. The closest players I can find are Larry Johnson (752 in 2005-2006), James Wilder (772 in 1984-1985), and Eric Dickerson (769 attempts in 1983-1984). Johnson and Wilder broke down the next year. Dickerson survived and even thrived but he might not be human. Throw in 97 receptions over that span and you will appreciate how many lumps Ricky took his first two years in Miami. It's no surprise that he had to self-medicate.

Ricky may have to spark mad izm again soon, as he's about to take more lumps in federal court (bonus KRS video!). Tattoo artist Stephen Allen of Crybabies Tattoo in Shreveport, LA sued Ricky Williams and Electronic Arts, Inc. in the Western District of Lousisiana for copyright infringement. According to the complaint, Mr. Allen gave Ricky Wiliams a tattoo in 2003 for $200. In 2010, Mr. Allen learned that Ricky Williams, tattoos and all, appeared on the cover of two video games made by EA Sports:



So, naturally, Mr. Allen sued Ricky Williams and EA. According to Mr. Allen's complaint, he "is the owner of all right, title and interest to the original artwork form [sic] which the tattoo on Mr. Williams' arm was created" and "[t]he artwork from which the tattoo on Mr. Wialliams' right and left arms was created is original with [Mr. Allen] and is copyrightable subject matter." He asserts that neither Ricky nor EA received his permission to reproduce, distribute, adapt, or publicly display his "Copyrighted Work."

I have a hard time seeing the tattoos in the images above but maybe they're clearer when you look at the game. And one of them seems to match one of Ricky Williams' arm tattoos:


But I'm not sure I'm buying all this. It seems to me that once you stick a tattoo on someone it is implicit that they have the right to publicly display it. And they also have the right to adapt it if, for example, they want to get a cover-up. Finally, it seems unfair that a famous person can't cash in on their fame by getting an endorsement deal without coughing up cash to their tattoo artist. But I know nothing about tattoo copyrights so maybe this is a typical cause of action. Imagine how much Lil Wayne has to pay his inkers whenever someone runs his photo in print!?! No one enjoys my lenghty pontifications so I won't spill any more ink (puns!) regarding what I think about this case.

The highlight of the complaint is Exhibit 1, a "Consent to Tattoo or Piercing Procedure & Release of Claims" from Crybabies Tattoo signed by Ricky Williams. I enjoyed this because when Ricky Williams signs his name his finishing flourish is the number 34. Check it:


Good think he never played for the Bears! Otherwise he would have to adapt (ha!) his signature to incorporate a second number. If he separated the numbers with a dash or a slash he would have the beginnings of a math problem, and he is not a mathematician. As the foregoing image shows, he can't even remember his date of birth or print his name.

I can't wait to see what happens when Mark appears on the cover of Grand Theft Auto. Perhaps we'll find out that he signs his name with a 69.

39 comments:

  1. another great case, zman.

    i hope i don't get sued for my content today over at Sentence of Dave -- tattoo on display, defaced by medieval medicine.

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  2. That tattoo rights issue would create an unprecedented amount of paperwork for the NBA.

    Looking forward to the Knicks next game in Boston when the fans all bring Honey Nut Cheerios boxes.

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  3. Wasn't there a case with Mike Tyson's face-tattoo artist & the makers of The Hangover 2?

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  4. Also, wrt the HNC remark, where should the line be drawn with trash-talk in sports?

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  5. so apparently the cult released a new album last year, and it was pretty good. why wasn't i informed of this?

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  6. Signore Pellicane, il Culto non apprezza il vostro culto

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  7. Heyyy shutta up with that garbage. Nona of us Northa Brunswicks speaksa the pussy Italiana.

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  8. this is great:

    http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/72168/jamaal-franklin-dunk

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  9. You know what's not great? Chris Rainey being arrested on domestic violence charges...again.

    And Greg's right, Tyson tattoo artist did sue over his tattoo appearing in Hangover. Rasheed Wallace's did the same over a Nike ad the prominently featured Rasheed upper arm tattoo.

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  10. Do any of these people win their cases? Seems ridiculous.

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  11. Also: That ridiculous workload of Ricky Williams during his two years with Wannstedt is the number on reason for his first retirement. Wannstedt was running him into the ground.

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  12. This is pretty odd - copyright protects the COMMERCIAL re-use, duplication, re-broadcasting, etc. of a copyrighted work. I.e. you can't somehow resell or profit from the copyrighted work without compensating the copyright owner. Assuming a tattoo would be considered a copyrighted work, there would be no cause of action or basis for compensating the copyright owner when the tattoo is not displayed for profit (e.g. a family picture).

    However, it seems to me (without doing any research) that tattoos should not be afforded the same copyright protection. Taking it beyond a video game cover, which the video game maker and Mr. Williams likely profited from, this type of enforcement would give a cause of action against ANY use for profit. TMZ, People Magazine, US Weekly (i.e. all of Geoff's favorite publications and programming) as well as basketball teams that use players' pictures in their programs and advertising could be sued/forced to pay money when they use a picture including a tattoo in their respective products.

    Also, enforcing these types of actions could lead to mandating a Copyright Notice (e.g. Copyright Mad Mike the Tattoo Artist, 2013) written under every tattoo. And that's just nonsense.

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  13. I believe it was the decision in the LaChapelle v. Massengill case where the court decided that any man who gets a Nike swoosh tattoo is a huge douche.

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  14. My suspicion is that because the images in question are illustrations, not photographs, the illustrator had to reproduce the underlying art that the tattoo guy created before he stuck it on Ricky Williams. From watching "Miami Ink" I know that tattoo guys draw a template, print it, and affix that to the customer. Then they just color the lines in (Mark is likely fuming over this reductive summary). The process of drawing the template creates an image in a fixed medium, and the video game cover artist had to reproduce that drawing when he drew Ricky Williams. That's just a hunch.

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  15. NO YOUR HONOR I WILL NOT SHUT UP!!!!

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  16. I have no doubt that there is talent and originality involved (although some tattoos are designed by their bearers). My larger point was that making tattoos subject to the same copyright laws is a pragmatic mess and therefore should not be attempted.

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  17. Oh I agree, it's preposterous. But I think that's what this guy is trying to say.

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  18. MY CLIENT IS BIGGER THAN YOUR CLIENT. CASE CLOSED!!!!

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  19. If I were going to get up on my tattoo pedestal, I'd say that the logical conclusion of this guy winning the argument is a reduction in people getting tattoos (and consequently less money for him and other tattoo artists). Nobody wants to have "all rights reserved" scrawled under his/her significant other's portrait on their ass.

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  20. Law and economics of tattoos!

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  21. In the G:TB Battle of the Tattoos ("The Tattle") pitting the inked against the unblemished, is it Mark/Dave/Clarence versus everyone else?

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  22. And Greg's knowledge of the details of that court case are much better than mine, but I recall that the trial took place on a summer's eve.

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  23. TR is on your side Clarence.

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  24. i'm sure danimal has something fey and irish.

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  25. THIS WHOLE COURT IS OUT OF ORDER!

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  26. Put down that science pole.

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  27. and mark you may have heard that one of nd's top commits, LB Alex Anzalone just de-committed and is heading to gainesville. cheaters.

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  28. I hadn't heard. He's been rumored to be switching to Florida for months. Until, that is, he came out last month and said he wasn't taking any more visits and was solid to ND. This last month before signing day is so ridiculous. Florida and Clemson were both vying for a WR (DeMarcus Robinson) who had committed and de-committed to both school at one point or another. Here's the twist: He was an early enrollee so neither school knew where he was going to end up as of Monday morning. Until he showed up on campus in Gainesville on Monday afternoon. 18 year old boys: Still assholes.

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  29. also, 30-40ish year-old men, still assholes, most of the time.

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  30. Missed it earlier, but fantastic JW LaChapellemreference by Greg. Joke for two!

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  31. If you've never seen OREGON'S basketball court. I encourage you to turn to ESPN2 to see it. Unique look. They've had it since last year. I like it.

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  32. Apparently the stuff ringing the outside of Oregon's court is fir trees. If they did this at W&M they would have ... people in tricornered hats around the court? Guys making horseshoes and candles? We know they couldn't use feathers.

    Oh yeah ... hi Gheorghies!

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  33. Hi Gheorghies!

    You guys are weak.

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  34. Aloha, Gheorgies-howlies! It's actually just 9:27 here in Hawaii!

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