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Graffiti Unchained: Navigating Art, Law, And Cultural Expression
Subject area: Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities · Area of research: Law
Abstract
Our culture has always celebrated and admired art and architecture. From the Ajanta Caves and Sittanavasal to the Meenakshi Temple, these places with their stunning murals not only highlight artistic brilliance but also reflect the cultural and historical significance of their time. The government of India has been actively working to preserve and protect the country's cultural heritage in various ways. One such effort is through intellectual property laws, which serve as a gift to the community of artists and creators. These laws help recognize their contributions, protect their work, and even provide them monetary benefits by granting legal protection to their creations. Graffiti, a form of art that originated in the West, has now been embraced by many Indian graffiti artists as a medium of self-expression. These expressions often carry cultural, artistic, and even historical value. Therefore, protecting graffiti as an art form is just as important as protecting other forms of art under existing intellectual property laws. However, the current IP laws in India do not extend protection to graffiti. This is mainly because graffiti is often created illegally, and its very nature does not fit into the categories defined by copyright law for protection. This paper aims to explore the significance of graffiti art and its various types. It also examines which kinds of graffiti could be eligible for protection under the law. Additionally, it discusses the issues surrounding illegal graffiti and suggests possible remedies to address these challenges. The paper also analyses how the United States has approached the protection of graffiti under its legal framework, offering insights that could be relevant to India.
References
[1] Ned Snow, Moral Bars to Intellectual Property: Theory & Apologetics, 28 UCLA ENT. L. REV. (forthcoming 2021)
[2] Christopher A. Cotropia & James Gibson, The Upside of Intellectual Property’s Downside, 57 UCLA L. REV. 921, 981 n.274 (2010). I reply to their argument in another work.
[3] Kaur, Manpreet, "Graffiti: On the Fringes of Art; Protected at the Edges of the Law" (2019). Law School Student Scholarship. 967
[4] Protecting Street Art and Graffiti as Artistic Works Under Indian Copyright Law: An Analysis Saday Chandra Das Volume 6, Issue 5, September-October 2024
[5] Sara Cloon, Incentivizing Graffiti: Extending Copyright Protection To A Prominent Artistic Movement Notre Dame Law Review Online [Vol. 92
[6] Brittany M. Elias and Bobby Ghajar, Street Art: The Everlasting Divide Between Graffiti Art and Intellectual Property Protection Landslide, Volume 7, Number 5, ©2015 b
[7] Adv. Amruta Oke Dr. Ankit Singh, Decoding The Intersection Of Street Art And Copyright Vol. Iv Issue I (June 2024)
[8] Celia Lerman*, Protecting Artistic Vandalism: Graffiti and Copyright Law N.Y.U. Journal Of Intel. Prop. & Ent. Law [Vol. 2:295]
[9] Professor Sue Liemer1, Works of “Recognized Stature” under VARA: Recognized by Whom? ,WL 2973385 at *11-*33 Posted: 2018
How to cite this paper
@article{1707668,
author = {Kanmani K},
title = {Graffiti Unchained: Navigating Art, Law, And Cultural Expression},
journal = {Iconic Research And Engineering Journals},
year = {2025},
volume = {8},
number = {9},
pages = {1171-1182},
issn = {2456-8880},
url = {https://www.irejournals.com/formatedpaper/1707668.pdf},
abstract = {Our culture has always celebrated and admired art and architecture. From the Ajanta Caves and Sittanavasal to the Meenakshi Temple, these places with their stunning murals not only highlight artistic brilliance but also reflect the cultural and historical significance of their time. The government of India has been actively working to preserve and protect the country's cultural heritage in various ways. One such effort is through intellectual property laws, which serve as a gift to the community of artists and creators. These laws help recognize their contributions, protect their work, and even provide them monetary benefits by granting legal protection to their creations. Graffiti, a form of art that originated in the West, has now been embraced by many Indian graffiti artists as a medium of self-expression. These expressions often carry cultural, artistic, and even historical value. Therefore, protecting graffiti as an art form is just as important as protecting other forms of art under existing intellectual property laws. However, the current IP laws in India do not extend protection to graffiti. This is mainly because graffiti is often created illegally, and its very nature does not fit into the categories defined by copyright law for protection. This paper aims to explore the significance of graffiti art and its various types. It also examines which kinds of graffiti could be eligible for protection under the law. Additionally, it discusses the issues surrounding illegal graffiti and suggests possible remedies to address these challenges. The paper also analyses how the United States has approached the protection of graffiti under its legal framework, offering insights that could be relevant to India.},
month = {March},
}