back to article Banksy denies Banksy impostor's claim to Banksy.com – which isn't owned by Banksy

Street artist Banksy is renowned for satirizing society through the unexpected, and a battle over his namesake dot-com domain seems to have provided him with another opportunity. We reported earlier this month that the anonymous artists appeared to have gone corporate, filing a trademark infringement case against the owner of …

  1. Mark 85
    Pint

    I'm impressed. Give the man some points for his actions. Or at least a beer.

    1. Just Enough

      So what?

      Banksy is free to enforce his trademark to any extent he wishes.

      But I don't follow why everyone is getting a damp patch about his choice to not enforce it. All he's done here is give one imposter the nod over another. I'm happy for him to have that choice, but why should I be excited about it?

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: So what?

        Have you been to Banksy.com??

        It's a nothing website, just a couple of meaningless links.

        It's not got any content from the artist on there, it doesn't attempt to pass itself off as him and use the artists image for financial gain.

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    FUCKIN VANDAL

    I can only hope that someday, someone will sue this bleeding pest...fucikn twat!

    1. asdf

      Re: FUCKIN VANDAL

      Jesus did he paint on your neighbor's wall or something making him a millionaire and not you?

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: FUCKIN VANDAL

      I once saw a plonker yelling at some kids who were drawing with chalk on the footpath outside their house. I'd like to think that was you also, as opposed to having to suspect the existence of many more dour-faced killjoys.

      1. DJO Silver badge
        Happy

        Re: FUCKIN VANDAL

        Well it depends upon what they were drawing outside his house.

        Edit: Oops, I see from your message it was outside their house in which case your assessment is quite correct and proper, I salute you.

      2. Nigel 11

        Re: FUCKIN VANDAL

        I once saw a plonker yelling at some kids who were drawing with chalk on the footpath outside their house

        Could have been worse. There is a student who got a criminal conviction for drawing (well, writing) with chalk, at a demo. The college claimed, on oath, that it needed tens of thousands of pounds worth of specialist stone remediation teatment to get the chalk off. Most think that a bucket of water and a sponge would have sufficed, and that it's the college authorities that ought to have received a criminal conviction for their wanton waste of public money, to say nothing of ruining a young person's future.

    3. Psyx
      FAIL

      Re: FUCKIN VANDAL

      So his painting in a public area is vandalism, whereas you CAPSLOCK posting abuse in a public [Internet] space isn't at all pathetically hypocritical?

      1. Intractable Potsherd

        Re: FUCKIN VANDAL

        Good street art makes an area look better. At least some of Banksy's stuff falls into that category, so I have very little problem. Inane "tagging" - the human equivalent of dogs pissing up a tree-trunk - and really poor pictures make an area look worse - much worse. Kids drawing on the pavement is so far beneath anyone's notice that I would suspect the shouty person is not entirely well.

        1. mark 63 Silver badge

          the human equivalent of dogs pissing up a tree-trunk

          Spot on Potsherd. Some graffitti (er , i mean street art or whatever) is really cool but Its amazing how shit 99% of it is. Just a "tag". Its like theyve tried really hard to ensure that there is nothing artistic , intresting or aesthetic about it at all.

          Even the murals in Northern Ireland look like a 6 year olds art class fridge picture.

          I noticed other countries have a far better standard of Street vandalism.

          1. asdf

            Re: the human equivalent of dogs pissing up a tree-trunk

            >Even the murals in Northern Ireland look like a 6 year olds art class fridge picture.

            >I noticed other countries have a far better standard of Street vandalism.

            Here in the southwestern US if you want really good street art you go into the Hispanic barrios often for some gorgeous murals. Of course as dangerous as that may be its generally even more dangerous to go to the other great place for street art which is in the concrete arroyos (flash floods anyone).

    4. CmdrX3

      Re: FUCKIN VANDAL

      You remind me of the grumpy old fart that used to live two doors up from me.

  3. Marcus Aurelius
    Holmes

    Making a false statement?

    Is WIPO a court or not? There are a whole string of very serious criminal charges that can be thrown against you if you lie to a proper court, even in civil cases.

    1. Oninoshiko

      Re: Making a false statement?

      Agreed, can't we get the bastards on purgery or or something?

      1. TitterYeNot
        Coat

        Re: Making a false statement?

        "Agreed, can't we get the bastards on purgery or or something?"

        Purgery <Definition> - The criminal act of supplying curry or similar dish with unusual hotness so as to cause the world to fall out of the victim's bottom.

        1. Nigel 11
          Coffee/keyboard

          Purgery <Definition>

          Wish that could get +100 !

    2. Graham Dawson Silver badge

      Re: Making a false statement?

      Nope, it's much closer to an arbitration service. It administers various intellectual property treaties.

  4. Will Godfrey Silver badge
    Happy

    Impressed

    I just love the way this guy thinks. Totally blows the brains of the 'mundanes'

    1. Nick Kew

      Re: Impressed

      Indeed, but not entirely unique. The open sourcer has an element of that mindset. And even the big faceless corporation may do: look at how Novell stepped in to the SCO case at a time when it was just SCO vs IBM.

      Voltaire would approve.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Impressed

      The naysayers do have some point - a few years back there was a Banksy hypegasm which gave the air that all of his utterances come inscribed on stones from Mt Sinai. Overly reverential handling does no favour to an artist, the lightest squib gets scrutinised for deep wisdom, like the mob following Brian of Nazareth.

      But it seems likely that he'd agree with much of the criticism - his sort-of-documentary "Exit Through the Gift Shop" takes the piss out of the art business, including graffiti. And it's enthralling and funny to boot.

      1. Psyx

        Re: Impressed

        "The naysayers do have some point - a few years back there was a Banksy hypegasm which gave the air that all of his utterances come inscribed on stones from Mt Sinai."

        - And it would be fair to criticize him *if he'd have stepped forward in an ego-sating move and thereby made himself instantly, staggeringly wealthy*. But he hasn't, and still lives on the 'outside' of the art-world glitterati where the likes of Hurst and Miss Attention-seeker-with-a-tent abide.

        So any criticism needs to be leveled at the art world and people who created the hypegasm. Slagging off the artist *who has nothing to do with it* is misplaced.

        1. Alien8n
          Alien

          Re: Impressed

          Please don't confuse real artists with the Sunday Broadsheet supplement darlings. It's sad to see that in almost every case real artists that can actually create stay overlooked and poor while Turner Prize winning idiots make millions from rubbish (often literally). There is more real art on the CD covers in a music store than there will ever be within a modern art museum. The great artists of the Louvre must be spinning in their graves when looking at the rubbish created by the likes of Hirst et al.

          1. Psyx

            Re: Impressed

            Success in any creative field is way more about self-promotion than talent, in both my own experience and that of seeing some very talented writers/musicians/artists unable to get anywhere because they don't have the right contacts. Hell: the only time I've ever been paid for writing anything was when friends got me an 'in'.

    3. aregross

      Re: Impressed

      Truly, a class act no matter how you look at it. I've followed Banksey for a while, love him!

  5. IHateWearingATie

    Meh

    Always thought that Banksy's stuff was fun, but nothing more profound that you get in the political cartoons of the broadsheets. Just with much much better marketing and more 'right on' celebs loving it.

    1. mark 63 Silver badge

      Re: Meh

      Yeah but how far above the rest of the art world with their dirty beds and mutilated cows is that!

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Meh

      The fact that he's giving a shit about his "brand" tends to put him more on the side of being a wanker though. Wanksy.

      1. Psyx

        Re: Meh

        Did you actually read the article, or did you just come on here for the express purpose of making a sh!t pun?

  6. Ralph B

    Erm, How?

    How did Banksy convince WIPO that he was actually Banksy when he was challenging the takedown by the imposter? Could this not be ANOTHER Banksy imposter challenging the Banksy imposter who was trying to takedown the domain of a Banksy imposter?

    I'm not even sure that I am real any more.

    1. Psyx

      Re: Erm, How?

      Because it was really Banksy.

      You can trust my word on it: I'm Banksy, and it was I.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Erm, How?

        I'M BANKSY! and so is my wife!

        1. wowfood
          Megaphone

          Re: Erm, How?

          I am Sparticus Banksy!

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Maybe banksyinc WAS the real banksy and the person who explained away the complaint was an imposter! How can they tell if no one knows who banksy is?

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    ... less a USD 500 processing fee ...

    WTF!

  9. WibbleMe

    There are hundreds of domain name extensions available hey lets register banksy.london it does not matter. Its only CW if your pretending to be someone brand.

    1. Jamie Jones Silver badge

      I'm sure there are many people with the surname 'Banks', who have been called 'Banksy' long before this Banksy was known

  10. Frankee Llonnygog

    My sympathies

    talent-free-stencil-jockey.com is available

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      So he's not an artist because he just sprays over stencils?

      I wonder where he gets the stencils from though? They're rather good, and my local Woolworths doesn't seem to carry them...

POST COMMENT House rules

Not a member of The Register? Create a new account here.

  • Enter your comment

  • Add an icon

Anonymous cowards cannot choose their icon