Municipal workers altered artist Juanma Reyes's public sculpture without his consent, prompting a court to order Mijas Town Hall to pay €25,000 in damages. The Commercial Court in Málaga concluded that the local administration violated the artist's moral right to the integrity of his work, a principle protected under Spain's Intellectual Property Law. Article 14.4 recognizes an author's right to oppose interference with a work when it harms the author's legitimate interests or reputation.
The dispute began in spring 2024, when Reyes, a Málaga-born artist, discovered municipal employees repainting his sculpture, La Veleta, which had stood for over a decade in a roundabout near his home in La Cala. Without prior notice or consultation, workers changed its original colors and later applied vinyl coverings to the geometric installation. Reyes contacted the Town Hall, governed by PP, Vox, and Por mi pueblo, but received no satisfactory response. He then decided to take legal action.
La Veleta was commissioned in 2011 by a group of 57 local business owners, following a neighborhood initiative to improve a roundabout near two schools. Reyes had creative freedom within a limited budget, and created an eight-meter-high sculpture symbolizing the construction of thought, accompanied by a mural. The work was inaugurated in October 2011 and remained unchanged until the 2024 intervention.
After noticing the modifications, Reyes sought legal advice from Herrero&Asociados, who formally requested the sculpture's restoration to its original state. The Town Hall eventually removed the vinyl and repainted the sculpture in its initial colors, but officials neither apologized nor acknowledged wrongdoing. Reyes went on to claim moral damages, arguing that the incident reflected a broader disregard for cultural works and artists' rights.
At the November 2025 court hearing, the Town Hall defended its actions, saying it had intended to restore a deteriorated artwork and citing damage from sea salt exposure. Municipal sources told EL PAÍS that the intervention was carried out in good faith: Mijas had no official catalog of movable cultural assets at the time, and ownership of the sculpture was unclear. The court found, but, that the changes affected an impressive element of the artwork, its color, and that the alteration harmed both the public and the artist.
Judge María del Carmen Rodríguez ruled that the Town Hall had infringed the artist's moral rights, emphasizing that the colors Reyes chose were fundamental to the composition. Under Article 14.4, changing a work does not automatically constitute infringement; the question is whether the alteration harms the author's legitimate interests or reputation. The law also treats moral rights as inalienable and separate from the economic rights involved in exploiting a work. The €25,000 compensation is intended to address the impact on the artist and the community's perception of the sculpture. Reyes called the outcome bittersweet: the ruling affirms the importance of respecting cultural works, but it is regrettable that legal action was necessary.
After covering legal expenses, Reyes plans to use the remaining funds to support La Faenera, a new cultural space in Álora that he is developing with his partner. The venue aims to host exhibitions and book presentations, as well as theater, circus, and concerts, with a focus on fair compensation for artists. It is scheduled to open in summer 2027.
The case highlights public administrations' responsibilities in managing cultural assets and the legal protection afforded to artists in Spain. It comes as judicial decisions are drawing increased attention amid developments involving high-profile court appointments in Spain. Coverage of judicial stalemates and leadership battles has examined ongoing debates about the Supreme Court's composition and political divisions here.
Spain's Intellectual Property Law protects an artist's moral right to a work's integrity, but whether an intervention causes harm depends on its nature and consequences, not simply on whether the work was altered. For municipalities, the dispute points to the value of documenting public artworks and consulting artists about maintenance needs. In municipalities with growing populations and tourism, public art can become a focal point for debates about cultural policy and the balance between preservation and renewal. The Mijas case may prompt other local governments to review how they manage public artworks and involve artists in decisions affecting their work.
