Street art, graffiti and copyright

The chapter analyses to what extent copyright laws, in particular in the US and to a lesser extent in the UK, are capable of regulating street art and graffiti. Particular attention is paid to whether such laws can accommodate the needs of street and graffiti artists, and give them appropriate tools to protect their works. The focus is on selected copyright-related aspects which are relevant to street and graffiti art, namely: (a) requirements for protection; (b) moral rights (with emphasis on whether the integrity right could be invoked by this category of artists to oppose the destruction and removal of their pieces); and (c) economic and moral rights protection of illegal works.