Cardi B is facing a law suit from a man who alleges that she used the design of his tattoo on the cover of her first album
Kevin Brophy alleges that the rapper photo shopped his distinctive back tattoo onto someone else’s body and used it without permission which ultimately appropriated his likeness in a “misleading offensive, humiliating and provocative sexual way
His argument is said to focus on the cover of 2016’s Gangster Bitch Vol 1 which has a male singer with his tattoo performing cunnings on the singer.
Cardi B argued that the cover image is transformative fair use of Brophy’s likeness but the judge handling the case Cormac Carney rejected fair use as a basis of handing Cardi B a win in the law suit
“To constitute a fair use the revised image must have a significant transformative or creative elements to make something more than mere likeness or imitation,” explained the judge
Timm Godden who created the cover said he was given 50$ to create a quick design and was later told to find another tattoo to put over the back of the male model. Godden is said to have googled ‘back tattoos found an image and pasted it on the cover.
Brophy is successful in his law suit but still it’s not clear if he could be in line for significant damages
While Cardi’s lawyers argued that changes were made to the tattoo on the cover the judge believes that they were insufficiently creative,
