The Skin Trade

In a rare award last week, a Parisian judge returned not only damages but the damaged property--a valuable piece of the plaintiff's anatomy--to a French girl named Claudine Perot. During filming of the movie Secret Paris in 1964, Claudine, who was then only 17, allowed a tattoo artist to decorate her buttock with a full-color rendering of the Eiffel Tower. Under the contract, the tattoo belonged to the moviemaker--Ulysee Productions--which probably wanted it for publicity purposes. Accordingly, Claudine had it removed by surgery and gave it to Ulysee. This year, older and a little wiser, Claudine brought suit against the company. Ruling that the studio had taken advantage of a minor, the judge ordered Ulysee Productions to return the skin, to cut the scene from the movie, and to pay for plastic surgery to repair Claudine's scar. He also awarded her $6,000 that should help soothe her wounded pride.

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