Banksy faces claims he “gravely damaged” the reputation of a rival with an Instagram post urging shoplifters to target fashion store Guess, according to details of a £1.3 million High Court case.
The legendary graffiti artist is being sued by a company run by Andrew Gallagher over a November 2022 social media post featuring an image of Banksy’s ‘Flower Bomber’ work in the Regent Street shop window.
The Instagram post was accompanied by the caption: “Alerting all shoplifters. Please go to GUESS on Regent Street. They’ve helped themselves to my artwork without asking, how can it be wrong for you to do the same to their clothes?”
The image shows the shop window advertising “Graffiti by Banksy”, together with the logos of the fashion store and Mr Gallagher’s ‘Brandalised’ name.
In a filing at the High Court, lawyers for Full Colour Black Ltd, which owns the trademark ‘Brandalised’, say they may seek for the graffiti artist to be unmasked during the legal battle.
“His true identity has not been disclosed to the public but he carries on his public activities under the pseudonym ‘Banksy’”, they state. “The claimant reserves the right to seek an order that he identifies himself for the purposes of these proceedings.”
Full Colour Black Ltd is suing Banksy and his company Pest Control Office Limited for £1,357,086 in alleged losses, claiming the Instagram post caused “serious harm” and “serious financial loss”.
It is argued viewers of the post among Banksy’s 11.9 million followers would have been led to believe that the company “had stolen Banksy’s artwork by licensing images to GUESS without permission or other legal authority”, a suggestion it argues is defamatory.
Full Colour Black Ltd says it collaborated legitimately with GUESS to licence a photograph of the Banksy “Flower Bomber” artwork for the shop window display.
The company had been locked in EU trademark disputes with Banksy between 2018 and 2022 after the graffiti artist argued his work should not be copied and reused for commercial gain. Full Colour Black said the ‘Flower Bomber’ trademark was cancelled in September 2020.
It is said the now-deleted Instagram post made an allegation “which goes to the heart of the Claimant’s business reputation”, and it drew ‘likes’ online as well as “overwhelmingly negative” comments aimed at Mr Gallagher’s company.
“The publication by the Defendants of the Post, and the entirely foreseeable republications and repetitions of them, have gravely damaged the reputation of the Claimant and have caused the Claimant to suffer very serious financial loss”, said lawyers for Full Colour Black Ltd.
“Following the publication of the post, a crowd of people appeared outside the GUESS store on Regent Street, London, creating a disturbance within and outside the store and causing the store to be closed to the public.”
The lawyers added: “The Post has created a highly damaging false and permanent ‘digital footprint’ about the Claimant which is beyond its control and is likely to continue to cause serious harm to the Claimant’s reputation in future.
“As a direct result of the publication of the Post customers and business partners of the Claimant have cancelled or refused to renew licensing and other contracts or have cease to place orders with the Claimant, causing the Claimant very substantial financial loss.”
The firm is seeking an injunction as well as damages for defamation. Banksy and his company have now been given time to respond to the High Court claim.
