http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-mongols22-2008oct22,0,754213.story
..."But the most lasting blow to the San Gabriel Valley-based bikers may be down the road: In an unusual maneuver, the feds are also seeking to seize control of the Mongols' trademarked name, which is typically accompanied by its cherished insignia -- a ponytailed Genghis Khan-like figure riding a chopper. U.S. Attorney Thomas P. O'Brien said if his plan is successful, the government would take over ownership of the trademark, and anyone caught wearing a Mongols patch could have it seized by law enforcement on the spot.
"Not only are we going after the Mongols' motorcycles, we're going after their very identity," O'Brien said in a telephone interview early this morning. "We are using all the tools at our disposal to crush this violent gang.""
Imagine this scenario:"excuse me, sir, you may not be aware of this, but the copyright for the tattoo on the back of your head is held by the US government; I'm going to have to ask you to remove that, or at least wear a hat."
Fortunately for him, the copy on his head (which is, by definition, a "copy" under the U.S. Copyright Act) is not an infringing copy, since it was "lawfully made" before the seizure. Whoever owns his head (hopefully the guy) is free to distribute it without the consent of the copyright owner (unless, according to the Ninth Circuit court of appeal, the tattoo was made ouside of the U.S., in which case the U.S. has a right to prohibit him - or at least his head- from entering the country, so he should limit his travels to domestic).
But he need not wear a hat so long as the display is not "public", and the law is written so that he can take his hat off in a restaurant, for example, but can't post the photo posted above here on the Internet. When he dies, the gravedigger will need U.S. Authorization to dispose of it.
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