A greeting cards company has denied it attempted to “take custody” of the graffiti artist Banksy name to sell “fake” merchandise of his art.
The BBC Reports
Full Colour Black, which is involved in a trademark legal row, said the artist’s comment was “entirely untrue”.
The north Yorkshire company insisted it was a “legitimate enterprise” that did not “infringe his rights in any way”.
Banksy claimed he had been forced to open a shop in Croydon, south London, this week, as a result of the dispute.
The store, Gross Domestic Product, is selling a range of “impractical and offensive” merchandise created by Banksy.
The street artist was advised by his legal team to sell his own merchandise to avoid his trademark being used by someone else under EU law.
In a statement, owner Andrew Gallagher said it was a three-person “tiny business” and not a “big corporate group”.
“We sell greetings cards from our home. It is entirely untrue that we are attempting to ‘take custody’ of his name. We don’t use his trademarks or his brand name.”
