Copyright in the Street
An Oral History of Creative Processes in Street Art and Graffiti Subcultures

This book provides an oral account of how copyright narratives are penetrating street art and graffiti subcultures.

Enrico Bonadio (Author)

9781009198684, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 27 April 2023

280 pages
23.6 x 15.9 x 1.6 cm, 0.41 kg

Enrico Bonadio did it again! In this volume, he brings together years of research into a comprehensive look at copyright in street art and graffiti. Here, Bonadio combines his legal acumen with his philosophical sensibility and historical knowledge to uncover a watershed moment in the study of intellectual property applied to urban creativity. No serious discussion of intellectual property in the arts, or, more broadly, street art, will be able to ignore this work.' Andrea Baldini, Professor of Philosophy and Aesthetics, Alliance University, India

This book explores how copyright laws are perceived within street art and graffiti subcultures to examine how artists and writers view certain creative aspects of their own practice. Drawing on ethnographic research and fieldwork, the book gives voice to the main actors of these communities and highlights their feelings and opinions toward issues that are increasingly impacting their everyday life and work. It also touches on related and complementary issues, such as the 'gallerisation' or economic exploitation of these forms of art and the curious similarities between the graffiti and advertising worlds. Unique and comprehensive, Copyright on the Street brings the 'voice from the street' into the debate over the legal and non-legal protection of street art and graffiti.

1. Introduction
2. Creativity and originality of graffiti lettering
3. Copyright within street art and graffiti circles
4. Feelings about attribution and preservation
5. The subcultures between an anti-establishment ethos and the mainstream
6. Sharing, biting and social norms.

Subject Areas: Property law [LNS], Intellectual property law [LNR], Graffiti & street art [AFJG]