When graffiti meets the minimum requirements for copyright protection it should be protected despite its illegality. Copyright should be neutral towards works created by illegal means. Because copyright should only be concerned with the immaterial work, the artist’s material transgressions should not exclude the work from copyright protection.
Photo by Gemma Evans on Unsplash
The nature of street graffiti may be original and artistic, but such artworks usually attach themselves to someone else’s property and are created without the permission of the property owner. Moreover, during the creation of unsanctioned graffiti, the graffiti artist may have committed trespass, violated state vandalism laws and committed a tort against the property owner.