Banksy, whose real name and identity have never been formally disclosed, has long made anonymity central to his work and identity as an artist. His anonymity is not only central to his artistic persona, but it also contributes to the value of his creations, many of which have fetched seven and eight-digit prices at the world’s most prestigious auction houses. Yet as Banksy’s fame and notoriety have increased, so too have the number of people profiting off the appropriation and sale of his designs. However, Banksy’s anonymity made the fulfillment of this wish difficult: in order to allege copyright infringement on his designs, Banksy would have to reveal his full, legal identity to prove he is the “unquestionable owner,” which would severely, if not irreparably, undermine his persona and the value of his work.
Read MoreBeyond the evident free speech questions that Iancu v. Brunetti poses, the case also has brought attention to the forms of evidence presented in court. In its argument in linking the name “Fuct” to its implied expletive counterpart, the USPTO provided an Urban Dictionary definition of ‘fuct,’which defined the term as the past tense of the verb ‘fuck,’’ finding the term to be ‘recognized as a slang and literal equivalent of the word “fucked,”’ with ‘the same vulgar meaning.’”
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