Tattoos of Mickey Get Under Disney’s Skin
Orlando, FL — The Disney Corporation (DIS) has won a controversial copyright case, Disney v May. In the suit, Disney alleged that tattoos performed by May of the beloved characters violate copyright and Disney can force individuals to remove them. The appeals court ruled in Disney’s favor in a 3–2 decision along party lines.
“We’re very happy with the decision that the court made today,” Disney’s attorney Jack Stewart said. “Disney has a long history of using copyright law to bully smaller creators and today’s victory is no exception.”
The defendant in the case, William May, a tattoo artist from southern Wisconsin, was less impressed. “I guess I can understand them not wanting people to use their characters without permission. But this was just too far.”
The method of tattoo removal required by Disney is one where the skin containing the ink is removed and sent to Disney for destruction. Also decided was that Disney would be given access to customer data to determine who received tattoos in violation of copyright.
“I’ve done literally thousands of hours of tattooing. I can’t remember what I did on every person. And they’re taking that as proof of guilt.”
“Mr May’s lack of paperwork is not our concern,” Stewart said. “Our concern is protecting copyright on beloved characters from nearly a century ago and delivering value to our shareholders.”
May is optimistic, however, as he pokes at the skin expander under his own Mickey Mouse© tattoo. “I mean, I am going to miss it. I know it’s silly but I would watch Fantasia nearly every day and it helped me through some dark times in an abusive household,” he said and sighed. “I can put something else there after. But I have no idea how I’m going to tell my girlfriend about the Goofy tattoo on my penis.”
