Street Art: Growing Clarity on VARA’s Applicability to Unsanctioned Street Art

Insights: Publications Street Art: Growing Clarity on VARA’s Applicability to Unsanctioned Street Art

ABA Landslide, Vol. 10, No. 1

October 1, 2017

Written by Brittany Kandela

In May 2015, I co-authored an article discussing the protectability of unsanctioned street art under the Copyright Act and the Visual Artists Rights Act (VARA). We focused largely on the gray area in which unsanctioned street art resides when assessing the scope of street artists’ moral rights under VARA. With the rising appreciation for street art and the booming graffiti art market, the question of whether VARA extends to protect unsanctioned street art is of growing importance. Although there are relatively few decisions analyzing VARA claims and street art, a recent string of new cases increases the prospects of greater clarity in this area of law.