The cancellation division of the EU's intellectual property office said in a ruling this week that Banksy's trademark for "Flower Thrower" was filed in bad faith and declared it "invalid in its entirety."
The decision, which can be appealed, followed a dispute between U.K. greeting card company Full Colour Black Ltd. and the company that authenticates and handles requests dealing with Banksy's work, Pest Control Office Ltd. The British street artist's real name and identity are unknown. The greeting card company also noted that Banksy wrote in one of his books that "copyright is for losers."
"It was only during the course of the present proceedings that Banksy started to sell goods but specifically stated that they were only being sold to overcome non-use for trademark proceedings and not to commercialize the goods," they wrote in their decision.
mini_bubbly Of course they did. And if his art turns against them, will they put that on a card?
The EU screwing over an artist. Copywrite applies from the moment it is created.