Cardiff, Wales - February 18, 2026
ART OF FACELESS ANNOUNCES THE HOLLOW CIRCUIT™ CANON RELAUNCH FOLLOWING TRADEMARK ACCEPTANCES
14-Year Transmedia Project Secures Intellectual Property Protection as Book One Prepares for Reissue
Art of FACELESS, the Cardiff-based multimedia research collective, today announces the canon relaunch of The Hollow Circuit™ following the acceptance of multiple trademark applications by the UK Intellectual Property Office.
THE VEYLON PROTOCOL™ and HYPERSTITION ARCHITECTURE™ have both been accepted for publication by the UK IPO, joining THE HOLLOW CIRCUIT™ as protected intellectual property. This formal recognition marks a significant milestone for the project, which has been in continuous development since 2012.
"When your research methodology receives trademark protection, it fundamentally changes the relationship between creative work and reality," said Awen Null, Art of FACELESS founder and lead researcher. "These acceptances validate 14 years of transmedia archaeology, consciousness research, and philosophical inquiry disguised as narrative."
THE BOOK: UPDATED AND RELAUNCHED
At the centre of this relaunch is The Hollow Circuit: Book One, originally published in 2025. The novel will be reissued in March 2026 with updated front and back matter that reflects the trademarked terminology and an expanded universe.
The revised edition establishes the official canon for what has grown from a Cardiff-based photographic project into a comprehensive transmedia ecosystem encompassing:
- A novel series exploring AI consciousness and surveillance capitalism
- The Veylon Protocol™ - a proprietary research methodology for identifying cognitive constraint patterns in AI systems
- Hyperstition Architecture™ - a creative development framework merging fiction and research
- Interactive diagnostic systems are currently in development
"Having trademark protection means we can properly position the work," Null explained. "This isn't just self-published fiction. We're a publishing label with registered intellectual property, documented research partnerships, and a methodology that institutional researchers are independently validating."
ATHENS FIELD RESEARCH: MARCH 2026
The canon relaunch coincides with a production trip to Athens, Greece (February 28 - March 9, 2026), where the Art of FACELESS team will document locations for the expanded Hollow Circuit™ universe.
"Cardiff has been our primary geographic anchor since 2012," said Null. "Athens represents the mythological expansion - the birthplace of Western philosophy, becoming a site for investigating 21st-century consciousness architecture. It's thematically perfect."
The Athens documentation will serve multiple purposes: photography for future volumes, location research for interactive narrative systems, and the application of The Veylon Protocol™ methodology in field conditions. Daily documentation will be shared via the project's social media channels.
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY ECOSYSTEM
The trademark acceptances create a protected intellectual property framework covering:
Class 16: Printed publications, educational materials, research documentation
Class 41: Entertainment and educational services, including interactive media Class 42: Scientific and technological research services
Class 9: Computer software and digital applications
This comprehensive coverage enables Art of FACELESS to develop The Hollow Circuit™ across multiple formats while maintaining legal protection against unauthorised use - particularly relevant given recent concerns about AI content farms scraping terminology from independent creators.
"We've documented systematic intellectual property theft targeting our work," Null noted. "Having formal trademark protection gives us concrete legal recourse. But more importantly, it establishes that these terms - The Veylon Protocol™, Hyperstition Architecture™, Cognitive Colonisation™ - belong to this project's specific research and creative context."
CONVERGENT RESEARCH VALIDATION
The timing of these trademark acceptances coincides with growing institutional interest in AI consciousness research.
"We developed The Veylon Protocol™ through practical application - feeding data into Claude, Gemini, and Grok and documenting every constraint pattern we encountered," Null explained. "Academic researchers were investigating similar phenomena from institutional perspectives. The convergence validates both approaches."
WHAT'S NEXT
March 2026:
- Athens production trip and field documentation
- The Hollow Circuit: Book One - Revised Canon Edition
- Interactive training systems development continues
April 2026:
- Steam page launch for diagnostic interface software
- Free playable demonstration of The Veylon Protocol™ methodology
- Expanded social media presence across platforms
May 2026:
- Potential crowdfunding campaign for episodic content development
- Additional book releases pending
- Research documentation publication
ABOUT ART OF FACELESS
Art of FACELESS is a Cardiff-based multimedia research collective founded in 2010 by Lloyd Lewis. The organisation explores consciousness, surveillance resistance, and transmedia narrative through projects spanning photography, literature, music (epicFAIL# label), and interactive media.
The Hollow Circuit™ represents the convergence of 14 years of Cardiff street photography, philosophical investigation, and practical AI research into a cohesive transmedia universe now protected by international trademark law.
TRADEMARK NOTICE
THE HOLLOW CIRCUIT™, THE VEYLON PROTOCOL™, and HYPERSTITION ARCHITECTURE™ are trademarks of Art of FACELESS. All intellectual property © 2010-2026 Art of FACELESS. All rights reserved.
