People are flooding to social media to weigh in on a 'stunning' but potentially risky tattoo.
A tattoo showing Super Mario favorites Mario and Princess Peach has gone viral.
Uploaded by tattoo artist Pablo Ezequiel Frias on his own social media, before being re-shared on X by others, the arm shows the iconic characters and other notable features of the game such as the Piranha Plants and Bullet Bill.
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The first arm took a whopping 18 hours to complete, according to the artist's Instagram page.
However, it's not taken long for people to share their thoughts on the tattoo, with many in awe of the skilled work, but others all saying the same thing.
One X user joked: "Nintendo gonna put his arm in a bIender for this."
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"Nintendo gonna sue him take his arm and put it in a glass case at their headquarters," another added.
However, a third noted: "Holy. props to that artist tho. this tat looks amazing."
"Omg they taking his arm and house," a fourth commented.
And a final said: "Bro should start practicing how to live with one arm."
Is Nintendo strict with copyright?
Nintendo is known to have some pretty strict approaches when it comes to copyrighting of its designs.
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Nintendo's page on 'Intellectual Property and Piracy FAQ' states in pretty specific detail its stance when it comes to copyright, explaining 'a copyright is an exclusive right granted to a creator of a literary, musical, audio-visual or artistic work, giving the creator the sole right to reproduce and distribute that work'.
It continues: "There are several different types of copyrights that are associated with Nintendo's products. These include various copyrights in Nintendo's software source code, executable code, game visual display, game music, game characters, product packaging, game manuals and labels, hardware chip microcode, artwork and publications."
It also notes it has 'anti-piracy programs' in over 40 countries and uses 'legal enforcement, consumer awareness, technology and seeking improved intellectual property legislation' to enforce it. *Gulps*
Are tattoos protected by copyright laws?
Magnum Tattoo Supplies explains the full copyright of a tattoo is owned by the tattoo artist who designed it, but what happens if they haven't fully designed it and have used well-known figures such as Nintendo's Mario? And what about the person who's had the tattoo done?
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Well, Magnum Tattoo Supplies says the person who's had the tattoo on them doesn't own the rights so 'cannot legally reproduce the image commercially or use it profiteer from in any way'.
The supplies site continues: "While it is technically possible for a tattoo artist to replicate a drawing and utilise it for a tattoo, it is not regarded best practise legally, professionally, or creatively. Most artists like to create something unique, sometimes gaining inspiration from an existing picture or piece of art and adding their own creative twists and unique aspects.
"Legally speaking, it would be considered copyright infringement to use someone else’s unaltered artwork as a tattoo, but it would be unlikely that a person would sue over this or pursue any type of legal action."
However, this doesn't mean it's impossible - with a tattoo artist having been dragged into a legal battle to do with copyright before.
Kat Von D ended up winning a first-of-its-kind lawsuit which saw her accused of violating copyright law by the photograph of a picture of jazz musician Miles Davis which she used as a reference for a tattoo for a friend for free.
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UNILAD has contacted Nintendo and Pablo Ezequiel Frias for comment.
Topics: Art, Gaming, Nintendo, Social Media, Viral