WARNER BROS. SETTLES TATTOO ARTIST’S LAWSUIT

Warner Bros. said on Monday that it had “amicably resolved” — i.e., settled — tattoo artist S. Victor Whitmill’s lawsuit for using the tattoo he had created for Mike Tyson on Ed Helms’s face in The Hangover II. Terms of the settlement were not disclosed. The studio had recently announced that it had decided to digitally alter the tattoo for the DVD release of the movie, but some speculated that the sheer cost of the alteration might have prompted Warners to reach a quick agreement. Moreover, while a federal judge last month refused Whitmill’s request to issue an injunction that would have prevented the studio from opening the film on schedule, she nevertheless observed that he had a “strong likelihood of prevailing on the merits for copyright infringement.” She scuttled each of the studio’s arguments, calling them “silly.” Both sides presumably signed an agreement not to discuss the outcome with reporters.