Quote:
Originally Posted by SLO
How do they have a right to damages if they didnt own the property? Is there something I'm missing?
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yes there is something you missed -- reading the article beyond the headline!
In November of 2013, Wolkoff whitewashed 45 graffiti artworks at 5Pointz in the middle of the night without notifying the artists. Wolkoff, who died in July of this year, fought to overturn the ruling against him until the last days of his life after losing an appeal in court in February.
The 2018 ruling set a precedent for the protection of graffiti as an art form that falls under the “recognized stature” provision of the Visual Artists Rights Act (VARA). The court ordered Wolkoff to pay $150,000 for each destroyed work, the maximum award of statutory damages allowed under VARA.
personally, i don't really get it either, but they won the case.