Mercedes-Benz claims it had the right to post photos promoting its vehicles with murals in Detroit displayed in the background without consulting the artists.

Not so fast, says a federal judge.

Earlier this year, Mercedes-Benz sued four artists, whose works stand in Eastern Market, after the artists asked for compensation and threatened to sue the German car company for using the murals without permission in an Instagram post.

Mercedes-Benz sought to obtain a judgement stating that it is allowed to use the photographs promoting its products and the German automaker did not break copyright laws or infringe the rights of the artists, according to the lawsuit.

In U.S. District Court in Detroit on Tuesday, Judge Avern Cohn said the murals have "a uniqueness" and "are entitled to protection." Cohn added that he may "realign the parties so that the owner of the work of art which was misappropriated is suing for misappropriation and damage" in a forthcoming order.

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The sole purpose of Mercedes-Benz's decision to sue the artists "is to bully and intimidate" them, the artist's attorneys claims in response to the lawsuit, "and to send the message that assertions of infringement against the luxury automaker will be met with ferocious and financially ruinous litigation."

Donna Bolland, a Mercedes-Benz spokeswoman, said the automaker is "a strong supporter of the arts throughout the world."

"We make it a point to fairly compensate artists whose work we seek to use and to comply with all applicable IP (Intellectual Property) laws," she wrote in an email to the Free Press. "This is an unusual situation, and the accusations here do not accurately reflect our actions or our intent."

One of the artists involved in the lawsuit is James "Dabls" Lewis. He is the founder of Detroit's African Bead Museum and the only artist in the lawsuit from Detroit.

Lewis says Mercedes-Benz used the mural he created without context and without consulting him.

The mural, Lewis told the Free Press, "honors the African woman in slavery and the African woman going through colonization." Lewis said Mercedes-Benz "defamed" the mural because the company posted a photo of the piece slightly out of focus.

"The piece is full of symbolism," Lewis said. "You can define it as a sacred piece."

Mercedes-Benz said it immediately deleted the Instagram post "as a courtesy" after Lewis threatened to sue Mercedes-Benz if it did not pay him "a substantial sum of money," according to the lawsuit.

"These threats were not about protecting artists’ rights or ensuring just compensation," said Bolland, the Mercedes-Benz spokeswoman. "They were about disrupting Mercedes-Benz’s business and obtaining a cash windfall."

Lewis said the whole situation "could have been avoided if Mercedes hadn't been so arrogant."

Contact Omar Abdel-Baqui: 313-222-2514 or oabdelbaqu@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @omarabdelb