Graffiti Artist Sues Grand Theft Auto Creators

Thanks to EvilAvatar for pointing to an Entertainment Law Digest synopsis about a graffiti artist suing over unauthorized use of his work in Grand Theft Auto III. The article says that "Christopher Ellis asserts that Rockstar Games and Take-Two Interactive Software copied, used, and distributed his artwork, [made under the name] Daze" in GTA3, and Daze's official website has examples of his work, which was allegedly scanned into Grand Theft Auto's gritty urban environments without his knowledge.

Comments

Public Property?

[Kaeru the Frog]

Why shouldn't Take-Two be allowed to make scans of public property? Defacing it with your 'art' doesn't make it yours.

Re:Art haters, no. Vandalism haters, yes.

[QuantumG]

If I put a fence up on my side of the property line, how do you get to decide what color it should be?

Actually, you redefine the position of the property line by putting up a fence. Otherwise, you could just put a fence 1 inch into your property and I would be prohibited from having contact with your fence (because I would be entering your property to do so). The right to paint a fence that faces onto your property is common law.

Walls that face onto public property are not owned by the public, the public merely has the right to paint it any color they want, and no, "duly appointed officials" don't get to decide that, we do.