Full Colour Black files claim against Banksy in long-running trademark dispute
Greeting card publisher Full Colour Black and its owner Andrew Gallagher are taking legal action for defamation against world-famous graffiti artist Banksy, seeking at least £1,357,000 ($1.6million) in damages
In the new claim, revealed by the Daily Mail this week, Full Colour Black is also seeking an injunction preventing further alleged defamation as well as the significant financial settlement.
The claim has been filed in the King’s Bench Division of the High Court over an Instagram post from November 2022, with the defendants listed as “the artist known as Banksy” and Pest Control Office Limited, the body that authenticates his art.
PG Buzz understands the claim stems from a now-deleted post on Banksy’s Instagram account which Full Colour Black alleges “contained defamatory words which referred to, and were understood to refer to, the claimant”.
The background is that Andrew takes his own photographs of Banksy’s graffiti artworks in public places then uses the images on greeting cards he produces, and sells them through Full Colour Black, as well as working as an art licensing company specialising in the commercialisation of world-famous street art, and he is brand director of Brandalised, which collaborates with street artists.
Banksy is known on more than one occasion to have made public the statement: “Any graffiti in a public space that gives you no choice whether you see it or not is yours. It belongs to you to take, rearrange and re-use. Asking for permission is like asking to keep a rock someone just threw at your head.”
Full Colour Black formally opposed Banksy’s trademark on his well-known image of an ape – which first appeared on a Brighton nightclub wall in 2003 – back in 2019, saying it had been filed in “bad faith” with no intention to use it, and the artist then opened pop-up shop Gross Domestic Product in London’s Croydon in a move to strengthen his position.
In 2020 the European Union’s Intellectual Property Office ruled in Andrew’s favour, invalidating the trademark on the grounds it was not applied for in the real name of the artist – if the ruling had stood, the secretive painter would have been forced to reveal his true identity if he wanted to keep the trademark.
However, in November last year an appeal saw the EUIPO overturn its decision, reaffirming the trademark Pest Control Office had registered in 2018, and it was around this time the now-deleted Instagram post was made.
The new claim only mentions “the artist known as Banksy” so, despite the Daily Mail’s hyperbole, it’s unlikely he will be forced to personally appear in court or otherwise reveal his identity as his legal name is not on the documents.
Neither Andrew nor his legal team at Brandsmiths are able to comment on the proceedings, which are expected to be a long and drawn-out process.
