IANAL, duh.
If I were to purchase a Mercedes-Benz (never will), it wouldn’t be because of the mural it was driving past. It’s background, not focus. It may be pretty, but the car is the point.
If I were an artist painting murals in the public space, I’m already being paid (presumably, unless I’ve been suckered into working “for exposure”) to paint that mural.
Since the space is public, and cameras are a thing, I shouldn’t be allowed to claim that only eyeballs are allowed to see my mural (sculpture, building, etc.), and anything else owes me cash money.
If I want to have that much control over my public artwork, I need to put it in a private space where controls can be put into place to limit how it is viewed, and money can be collected from the viewer. Or stick it in a book, and sell the book.
I really hope the artist loses this one. But the way the world is constantly tilting toward the absurd, I wouldn’t bet on it.
