Wal-Mart fights to keep the smiley face
I had made mention of this before but here it is again ... the story that wouldn't die:
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The ubiquitous yellow happy face is at the center of an angry battle between Wal-Mart Stores and a company owned by a French family, according to a report Wednesday.
London-based SmileyWorld first registered rights to the symbol with the French trademark authorities in October 1971, but the battle with Wal-Mart (Charts) didn't begin until SmileyWorld filed for a U.S. trademark in 1997 for the exclusive right to commercial use and licensing of the term "smiley" in conjunction with the face logo, the International Herald Tribune reported.
"A prehistoric man probably invented the smiley face in some cave, but I certainly was the first to register it as a trademark," said Franklin Loufrani, who said he initially registered the design, according to the newspaper.
Do the words 'public domain' mean anything to Wal-Mart ???
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The ubiquitous yellow happy face is at the center of an angry battle between Wal-Mart Stores and a company owned by a French family, according to a report Wednesday.
London-based SmileyWorld first registered rights to the symbol with the French trademark authorities in October 1971, but the battle with Wal-Mart (Charts) didn't begin until SmileyWorld filed for a U.S. trademark in 1997 for the exclusive right to commercial use and licensing of the term "smiley" in conjunction with the face logo, the International Herald Tribune reported.
"A prehistoric man probably invented the smiley face in some cave, but I certainly was the first to register it as a trademark," said Franklin Loufrani, who said he initially registered the design, according to the newspaper.
Do the words 'public domain' mean anything to Wal-Mart ???