A lawsuit involving a series of Detroit murals may define how much protection artists have if their work is in plain sight on the exterior of a building.
Driving through the streets of Detroit, it's clear murals are part of the urban landscape, a colorful ode to Motor City built into the architecture itself — at least that's what Mercedes-Benz is trying to convince a Michigan federal judge.
The luxury automaker in March sued four artists who saw a series of G Class truck Instagram ads that showed their work in the background and sent threat letters in response.
Now, Mercedes is taking a legal turn that could effectively redraw copyright protection for street artists. In order to be protected by copyright, a work must be sufficiently original and fixed in a tangible medium. Here, that medium is the outside of several buildings. The works were created as part of the Murals in the Market Festival, which highlights Detroit's Eastern Market district.
In support briefs, the artists argue that the statute only applies to the copyright for the building itself, not the art at issue, and Mercedes can't avoid a fair use analysis by "pretending that all photographs of buildings are permitted." The artists' legal team is also challenging the luxury carmaker's lawsuits on procedural grounds, arguing the claims must dismissed because there are no registered copyrights for the works at issue and that's a prerequisite for such litigation. On that front, Mercedes argues its declaratory judgment claim is proper because the "threat of litigation creates a case or controversy, regardless of whether a copyright is registered.
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