A federal judge declined to halt Thursday’s opening of The Hangover: Part II, which is embroiled in a copyright lawsuit about a tattoo on the face of one of the film’s characters.

Tattooist Victor Whitmill claims Warner Bros. is misappropriating a tattoo he has copyrighted and had emblazoned on Mike Tyson’s face in 2003. U.S. District Judge Catherine Perry of Missouri declined to halt the movie, (.pdf) but said Tuesday the lawsuit for damages could move forward.

Whitmill was demanding that the judge block the tattoo from being shown in marketing and in the comedy film itself. The lawsuit claims the movie features a “virtually exact reproduction” of the original, which appears on the Stu Price character played by actor Ed Helms.

A central theme in the litigation, if it moves forward to trial, is whether copyright of images on the human body can be enforced.

It’s not the first time a tattoo artist has wanted to cash in on infringement allegations. In a 2005 federal case settled out of court, an artist who tattooed NBA star Rasheed Wallace’s right arm sued to stop the forward from “displaying” the tattoo in Nike advertisements.

See Also: