Wal-Mart Trying to Trademark the Smiley Face

Ellis D. Tripp writes to tell us BBC News is reporting that mega-retailer, Wal-Mart, is now fighting it out with a man who claims to have invented the 'smiley face' logo, and has been marketing it since the '70s. From the article: "Until now the smiley face had been considered in the public domain in the US, and therefore free for anyone to use. Wal-Mart spokesman John Simley told the Los Angeles Times that it had not moved to register the trademark until Mr Loufrani had threatened to do so."

Comments

Yet another reason to shop elsewhere

[mildness]

Fsck Walmart

IANAL, but you're still wrong

[xiphoris]

IANAL, but you're still wrong. Copyright.gov says:

Q: How do I copyright a name, title, slogan or logo?

Copyright does not protect names, titles, slogans, or short phrases. In some cases, these things may be protected as trademarks. ... In some circumstances, an artistic logo may also be protected as a trademark.

I guess it depends whether you want to consider a trademark a type of copyright. I wasn't meaning to pick nits, but I was referring to them as separate things in my previous post.

I hope walmart does get the copyright

[zappepcs]

This would certainly go to show two things: how fucked up copyright law is, and how fucked up walmart is. This is close enough to stealing candy from a baby as to make walmart look like the idiots I think they are. Go ahead, mod me down, but the point is that this is stupid, and I hope they win so that walmart and their management look as stupid as this situation is... but to all the world, not just /.

socre -1, troll

[RelliK]

You forgot to say "I'm not a lawyer, so you shouldn't listen to me."

You forgot to add the same line to your post, dumbass. Just as the parent says, you cannot copyright a logo. You can trademark a logo. Trademarks and copyrights are two completely different concepts.