The desktop background can be reset to anything else in the usual ways, but every 60 minutes it will change back to the plain black background. This will continue to happen until that copy of Windows is genuine.
The notification is, however, translucent and also can be clicked through and objects underneath it can be interacted with. In the screenshot here you can see (below) that the Recycle Bin appears underneath our logo. In this case, the Recycle Bin can be selected and moved about or right-clicked. The notification appears above any object on the desktop, but underneath open windows or applications. One of the reasons we've implemented the plain black background is to emphasize this new persistent desktop notification. As with the plain black background, the notification will continue to appear until that copy of Windows is genuine.