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- Title
Brandalism and subvertising: hoisting brands with their own petard?
- Authors
Smith-Anthony, Adam; Groom, John
- Abstract
Brandalism is a movement with the stated aim of rebelling ‘against the visual assault of media giants and advertising moguls who have a stranglehold over messages and meaning in our public spaces’. Through public acts of ‘subvertising’, where through spoofs, parodies and other message-changing/obscuring alterations, activists seek to use a brand's own marketing channels to make a statement against the brand itself. Subvertising typically involves artwork commenting on consumerism, cultural values, debt, the environment, body image or specific political messages placed over existing billboards at bus stops and other public spaces.The article will identify the recent rise of brandalism, referring to examples from spring/summer 2014. It will also analyse the movement and its possible impact against the backdrop of on-going discussions relating to the appropriate balance between, on the one hand, brand owners′ intellectual property rights and protections against defamation, and, on the other, the free expression rights of individuals and other groups.The article will draw on cases where courts in Europe have considered such issues and ruled where the balance between these conflicting sets of rights should lie. In considering how brandowners might respond to such brandalism campaigns, the article will consider: the extent to which intellectual property rights can be said to be infringed by such activity; the impact of parody defences in Europe and the parameters of fair dealing; the practical/commercial factors to be borne in mind; the relevance (and threats) of social media and viral memes; and the role (if any) of criminal enforcement.
- Subjects
PUBLIC spaces; ADVERTISING; OUTDOOR advertising; BILLBOARDS; CONSUMERISM
- Publication
Journal of Intellectual Property Law & Practice, 2015, Vol 10, Issue 1, p29
- ISSN
1747-1532
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1093/jiplp/jpu207