Tuesday, November 05, 2013

"For VARA to apply, the work must be of 'recognized stature.'"

"Since over the artists have repeatedly repainted the warehouse walls, 5Pointz might have a hard time establishing that the graffiti there is of 'recognized stature'. The constant repainting might lead the court to conclude that the graffiti artists did not have any expectation for their paintings to be permanent, which would remove the case from the scope of VARA. Moreover, Thomas F. Cotter, a professor specializing in intellectual property at the University of Minnesota Law school, noted that extending VARA protections to 5Pointz would seem to leave the Wolkoffs with no practical legal means of tearing down their own building, which “wouldn’t make a great deal of sense."

The American University IP blog on the 5Pointz graffiti case.