Believe it or not, but graffiti can be protected by copyright laws

Swedish fast fashion giant H&M took heat from an American graffiti artist after featuring his street art in an ad. (H&M)

When American graffiti artist REVOK demanded that H&M stop using an ad that featured his street art, the fast fashion giant countered with a lawsuit that claimed the artist, whose real name is Jason Williams, has no rights to a work that was created illegally.

But according to Toronto-based entertainment lawyer Tara Parker, even an illegally spray-painted wall can be protected by copyright laws.

“The copyright statutes, both in Canada and the U.S., don’t say… the work has to be put there in a legal manner,” she told CTV’s Your Morning on Monday. “In order to be considered an artistic work protected by copyright, it has to have two essential elements: one is that the work has to be original, and the other that it has to be in some kind of fixed, tangible form. If graffiti can meet those two requirements, it could be protected under the copyright statute.”

Amid public backlash, on March 15 H&M announced that it was dropping the lawsuit, saying that it was never the company’s “intention to set a precedent concerning public art or to influence the debate on the legality of street art.”

The ad in question has since been taken down from H&M’s websites and social media pages.