By Kimberly Almazan (December 17, 2018, 12:28 PM EST) -- In what appears to be a nationwide trend, California is the latest state to signal its willingness to grant protection to street artists. In Falkner v. General Motors LLC, a California district court recently ruled that a graffiti artist may move forward with a copyright infringement lawsuit against General Motors. The plaintiff-artist, Adrian Falkner, who is also known as "Smash 137," was invited by an art gallery to create a mural on the facade of a Detroit parking garage. The artist's mural encompassed two adjoining walls; on the left-hand corner of one of the two walls, he placed his pseudonym, "Smash 137." Later, a professional automotive photographer included a portion of the artist's mural in a photograph of a General Motors Cadillac crossover SUV. The photograph — which did not include the wall that showed the artist's signature — was posted on General Motors' sociaI media....
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