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Graffiti Artist Sues Luxury Condo Developer For Allegedly Using His Art In Ads


January 22, 2015 | Prachi Gupta

Brooklyn graffiti artist Craig Anthony Miller, aka CAM, has filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against luxury homebuilder Toll Brothers, The New York Daily News reports. Miller claims that the developers used his “Elephant Mural” without permission in a series of DUMBO condo ads they ran in 2012.

The 90-foot mural once appeared on Water Street, but was taken down in 2013 and replaced by townhouses. The ads, which ran on subways, buses, telephone booths, and even in a newspaper spread, featured a “very recognizable portion” of the mural, according to Miller.

Miller says that the artwork was his most famous, stating in the lawsuit that “its legacy lives on in the hearts and minds of residents.” Bolstering his case, The Post reports that Miller has a copyright registration of the artwork, which was done with permission from the property owner. According to NYU law professor Jeanne Fromer, “It sounds like he is going to have copyright protection here.”

(Photo: superk8nyc)