GAME ON--COPYRIGHTED TATTOOS IN VIDEO GAMES AS FAIR USE.

With its fact-intensive inquiries and limited bright-line rules, copyright law is known for its ambiguity, and courts often differ in their interpretations of various doctrines. The fair use doctrine is no different, and was in fact designed to grant courts discretion in making their determinations, all with the aim of maintaining the true purpose of the copyright law. Recent technologies and popularized forms of art only complicate things, adding rougher terrain to an already confusing landscape. This Comment explores two relatively recent cases that consider the intersection of tattoos, copyrights, and video games, one stemming from the Southern District of New York and the other from the Southern District of Illinois. To properly consider these cases, this Comment first provides a brief overview of copyright law and the fair use doctrine as it is applied to allegedly infringing uses of copyrighted works. Next, this Comment discusses the copyrightability of tattoos as a general matter. After laying this groundwork, this Comment moves to summarize the two cases this Comment is designed to investigate--Solid Oak Sketches and Alexander--before considering which court "got it right." Lastly, this Comment considers available avenues for reaching consensus, or, at the very least, creating some type of predictability, in the hopes of providing authors and users with a consistent understanding of what can be permissibly used and what will constitute infringement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]