Banksy loses lawsuit over 'Flower Launcher' brand

Protect the intellectual property rights on your works or renounce the anonymity that has been jealously preserved until now and which has contributed a lot to the charm and success of your character? This is the dilemma imposed on the British artist Banksy by the European Union Intellectual Property Office, which with a ruling destined to cause debate has deprived him of the trademark for his famous graffiti 'The flower thrower'. The Community body based in Spain has sanctioned that his anonymity does not allow the artist to be identified as a certain author. 'The Flower Thrower', one of Banksy's most famous works, appeared on a wall in Jerusalem in 2005 and depicts a Palestinian protester about to throw a bouquet of flowers instead of a stone. The mysterious urban artist, whose works have suddenly appeared on buildings around the world for years, had registered the trademark for this famous image with the European Union in 2014. But in 2018, the Full Color Black greeting card maker, who wanted to use the illustration for its products, challenged the decision by stating that Banksy had filed the trademark "in bad faith", that is, without intending to use it. for commercial purposes. "It is clear - the Madrid office has now concluded - that when Banksy filed the trademark, he had no intention of using the work to market goods or provide services". The problem posed by Banksy's rights to the work is clear, argue the European authorities: "protecting his intellectual property rights would require him to lose his anonymity, which would damage his character", specifies the text of the sentence. Therefore, "he cannot be identified as the clear owner of such works". Last year Banksy opened a 'temporary store' in London, calling it "Gross Domestic Product" and explaining that it was doing it to answer the issues raised by this legal dispute and to prove that it was using the registered trademark. However, the European authorities considered that this initiative, on the contrary, did nothing but strengthen the arguments against him. In addition to having the registered trademark invalidated, Banksy will now also have to pay Full Color Black's legal fees. Except for twists, if the artist were to appeal