But now the tables have turned, and the Vatican stands accused of violating the intellectual property rights of a street artist. The Vatican stamp office declined to comment on the lawsuit, said its chief, Massimo Olivieri. Copyright lawyers familiar with the case say it is an important benchmark for Italy and evidence of the increasing appreciation for Banksy-style street art. People who commercialize street art without making good-faith efforts to find the artist and negotiate use of the image “do so at their own risk and peril,” he said. She found out it had been used as the Vatican stamp when a well-known Rome street art photographer saw it and immediately recognized it as Babrow's handiwork.

Source: ABC News May 25, 2021 07:30 UTC