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Wal-Mart Trying to Trademark the Smiley Face

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the :)-prior-art dept.

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."

1 of 317 comments (clear)

  1. IANAL, but you're still wrong by xiphoris · · Score: 1, Troll
    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.