It’s unclear if Bansky is just one person or a group of artists, but either way, the mysterious identity of Banksy has never been revealed. Truthfully, the intrigue behind the name has probably helped facilitate the artist’s popularity, but the mystery may soon come to an end.
Reports have indicated that the identity of the popular artist may be revealed sometime in the future. Hot New Hip Hop picked up on a report from High Snobiety this week in which it was revealed that Banksy is currently in a legal battle with a company named Full Colour Black.
Reportedly, the brand wanted to use Banksy’s image of the protestor throwing a bouquet of flowers, but the iconic work of art was trademarked in 2014.
The organization allegedly felt as though Banksy was not planning on using the trademark, which led the artist to create another store as a way of getting around Full Colour Black’s demands.
[embed]https://www.instagram.com/p/B5njLQ4HhoL/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading[/embed]However, the European Union’s Intellectual Property Office argued that Banksy acted with bad intentions. To legitimize the trademarks, it’s possible the mysterious figure will have to reveal their identity.
The court released a statement this week in which they claimed that the legitimacy of the trademarks couldn’t be established because no one knows who Banksy is. In fact, the court argued this was the issue with all of the trademarks.
Put simply, it’s very possible Banksy might have to reveal their identity in order to avoid other companies from using their work. Obviously, this wouldn’t be the first time an artist had to go to court to fight over the rights to their work.
Admittedly, Banksy’s case is much different than others due to their anonymity, however, copyright and trademark disputes continue to flourish in the entertainment business. In fact, even Kanye West has been slamming the recording industry on his Twitter account over the last week.
The rapper has called on other performing artists to own their master recordings, which Taylor Swift touched on last summer. Swift complained about Scooter Braun purchasing the rights to her music for a whopping $300 million after her contract with Big Machine Records – now Big Machine Label Group – expired.