The pattern, which Slovak officials presented as a symbol of national pride was taken from a stock image library of Murphy’s work.

Agnieszka Murphy sells her designs through image banks and doesn't receive information about buyers.

Experts and groups like "Slovenský folklór bez fejku" (Slovak Folklore Without Fakes) criticized the design, stating that it was not an authentic Slovak pattern ("čičmiansky vzor"), but rather an imitation.

This group posted pictures of buildings with authentic Slovak patterns to show the difference.

[3] In 2023, Slovak citizens had visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 184 countries and territories, putting the Slovak passport at the 8th rank of travel freedom (tied with Latvia and Slovenia) on the Henley Passport Index.