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Any argument that this is infringement must be predicated on how accurate the tattoo is to the original photo. The artist would never think to sue if it wasn't executed so expertly.

Where do you draw the lines? Is it infringement if you draw a picture while looking at another picture? What if you do it from memory?

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The quality of execution is not a factor - a sloppy copy is a derivative work just as a very good copy. (If the result is substantially transformative - which is very, very different from an expertly executed copy, other factors might apply).

If the tattoo was executed poorly, the artist might never think to sue, but they would be exactly as justified to sue as in this case.

Copyright law is pretty clear on this one. She's not in a great spot.

From your comment, I have no idea where you think copyright law is on this issue.

I thought we all could agree nothing is clear cut here. Courts will be involved and laws defined in a long expensive process.

No it's not. The article even says that as well.

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