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Is the spray-painted mural on the walls of your building a work of art or vandalism? Knowing the correct answer before trying to remove it can make the difference between asserting your property rights or ending up in a costly court battle.

The distinction pivots around the Visual Artists Rights Act of 1990 (VARA), a federal law that protects “distinguished works of art” from modification, mutilation or outright destruction. In a landmark case from 2017, Jerry Wolkoff, a real estate developer was taken to court by 20 aggrieved artists for whitewashing murals and other spray-painted artworks from a sprawling warehouse he owned in Queens, New York City. More than a decade earlier Wolkoff had given the artists verbal permission to transform his five-story structure into a public canvas. Known as 5Pointz, the block-long warehouse attracted tourists and artists from around the globe.

Although the artists never had an official contract with Wolkoff, a judge ruled that according to VARA, the developer should have informed the artists of his plans and given them a chance to preserve their works before the art was painted over and eventually demolished. The judge awarded the artists $6.75 million in damages. Wolkoff took the case to the U.S. Supreme Court, which upheld the lower court’s ruling in early October by declining the developer’s appeal.

Does this mean that every hastily scrawled tag, profanity or other graffiti spray-painted on your property is elevated to a “work of visual art” and worthy of legal protection? Not likely.

VARA only applies to “works of recognized stature.”

As a rule, property owners should consult their attorneys before allowing any sort of arrangement—informal or contractual—where artists are permitted to make works of art on their buildings or other structures. Bottom line: Art might be in the eye of the beholder, but once you invite it on your property it’s under the watchful gaze of the law.