Battle Of The Banksy Trade Marks

• Published date: 03 August 2021
• Subject Matter: Intellectual Property, Copyright, Trademark
• Law Firm: HGF Ltd
• Author: Ms Rachel Platts

Between 2014 and 2019 Banksy applied and registered 14 European Union trade marks for some of his most famous artworks. However, over the last 2 years several of these registrations have been subject to invalidity actions filed by Full Colour Black Limited, a greetings card company.

Background

Banksy creates new graffiti artwork sporadically throughout the UK and there is general excitement within the public when a new artwork appears. Buildings which are chosen as the location suddenly shoot up in value overnight, visitors flock to see the new artwork and there have even been instances of attempts to remove the artwork as they are considered to be valuable.

Part of what adds to Banksy's appeal is the fact he remains anonymous. There is much speculation over his identity, but no one really knows. This anonymity adds complexity to his intellectual property rights and the ability to assert those rights.

Historically, Banksy has been unable to rely on copyright claims as he is not willing to disclose his identity. In order to be able to rely on copyright, he would need to be able to assert that he is the artist who created the works. Having said this, such claims against third parties by Banksy seem to be rare.

In addition, Banksy has been relatively vocal about his lack of interest in intellectual property rights and has even stated that 'copyright is for losers', presumably because he is unable to rely on it and stay anonymous. He is now trying to take advantage of the trade mark system in order to protect his works.

Current actions at the EUIPO

A quick search on the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) website shows there are currently 17 trade mark registrations in the name of Pest Control Office Limited, which is Banksy's corporate body.

In order to circumvent the need to disclose his identity in order to rely on copyright, Banksy has registered several trade marks at the EUIPO for a number of his works.

The works that have been filed include 'Flower Thrower', 'Laugh now' and 'Bomb Hugger' and cover a range of goods such as paints, sunglasses, stationery and clothing.

Flower Thrower

Laugh now

Bomb Hugger

In 2019, greetings card company Full Colour Black Limited (FCB) filed invalidity actions against the registrations on several grounds, including bad faith.

The ongoing dispute circles around the fact that Banksy is trying to circumvent the requirements of copyright law and obtain a monopoly right, which can be renewed indefinitely and...