PANews reported on November 21 that Phillip Banks, the creator of the CHILLGUY image, announced on the social media platform X that he had officially obtained the legal copyright of the image. He said that he would issue a deletion notice in the next few days for unauthorized commercial use, including related products and shitcoins. Phillip Banks emphasized that although he did not mind brand accounts using the image to lead trends, he still hoped to obtain proper attribution or other forms of recognition.