French retailer buys rights to Anonymous brand

The mysterious hacking collective Anonymous, scourge of corporate websites and governments the world over, face a challenge from a small French retailer who are buying the rights to their brand and slogan. In what appears to be a PR stunt, the French company “Early Flicker” is attempting to trademark both the Anonymous logo and the official call-sign used by the collective: “Anonymous. We are legion. We do not forgive. We do not forget. Expect us.”

So far no one from Anonymous has commented on the stunt, but it is clearly a PR first – capitalising on an online hacking group’s criminal activity to market a brand. Whether it will result in legions of Anonymous t-shirts hitting the streets next season remains to be seen.