Every year, November 5th marks Guy Fawkes Day in England, but this year’s celebration had a distinct political overtone as the “Guy Fawkes Mask” has become synonymous with computer hackers and possible Occupy Wall Street co-organizers, Anonymous. The #Occupy movement has assimilated the mask as a tribute to both the historical figure and the movie “V for Vendetta” in which the main character dons the mask to make himself a modern Guy Fawkes while fighting against a fictional fascist government.

Guy Fawkes is an almost mythical figure in British history. As part of the “Gunpowder Plot of 1605,” he and 12 other conspirators plotted to assassinate King James I, blow up Parliament, and bring to power a Catholic-led monarchy. Fawkes was said to be found in the basement of the Parliament building guarding cases of gunpowder to be used for the explosives. Guy Fawkes Day, remembered by children in the nursery rhyme, “Remember, remember the 5th of November” is celebrated across Britain with fairs, fireworks and bonfires in which effigies of Fawkes are burned. Through the movie “V for Vendetta” and a narrow scope of history, the character of Guy Fawkes has been rewritten from terrorist to anti-hero.

One company pleased that the Occupy Movement has taken to the Fawkes mask is Time Warner. The rights to the mask belong to the media mogul and every time someone buys one online, the movie giant makes money, according to Time Magazine:

Warner Brothers, the Time Warner subsidiary who produced the movie, owns the rights to the Guy Fawkes mask – and they earn royalties on every sale. While Time Warner hasn’t released any data related to their earnings from the masks, it’s safe to say that the hundreds of thousands of Guy Fawkes masks sold each year helps to bring sure profit to the company.

While Warner Brothers is simply cashing in on a deal they had before the movement began, other entrepreneurs are trying to cash in on the movement during its early stages by trademarking the Occupy lexicon. One of those men is Arizona businessman Ray Agrinzone who launched the occupystore.com earlier this month:

The site offers t-shirts, hoodies and even gift certificates. Agrinzone said he intends to donate 10 percent of profits to the Occupy Wall Street organizers. He said he has lost money so far, but still plans donate about $100 over the weekend. He said he will propose to organizers that a section of Zuccotti Park be turned into a merchandise zone for the benefit of the movement. He said he has received hateful tweets and email from people opposed to his store and plans to profit from the Occupy demonstrations. "There's nothing wrong with turning a profit," Agrinzone said. "I don't think that's what this is all about."

The irony of profiting off of a movement born out of grassroots frustration that the American people were being profited off of is not lost on Occupy organizers. They have entered the race to trademark their brand, if only to prevent others from doing so:

In recent weeks, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has received a spate of applications from enterprising merchandisers, lawyer and others seeking to win exclusive commercial rights to such phrases as "We are the 99 percent," ''Occupy" and "Occupy DC 2012." Organizers of the protest centered in Manhattan's Zuccotti Park went so far as to file for a trademark of "Occupy Wall Street" after several other applications connected to the demonstrations were filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

The USPTO suggests that trademark claims are handled in the order they arrive. One OWS trademark claim came in prior to the official movement's effort to protect the phrase but has since been rescinded, making the possibility of the movement controlling it's own name very real.