This could turn out to be a battle of David vs. Goliath. A French firm is suing Wal-Mart for violating its trademark over the simple smiley face. SmileyWorld filed for a trademark in 1997 so that they could use the term "smiley" along with a smiling face. The company and Wal-Mart have been at odds ever since. I guess Wal-Mart never felt there was a need for such a trademark (which is hard to believe). Apparently US law is leaning towards Wal-Mart direction. The US is unique in that it bases it decisions on such cases by determining the company that more heavily uses a symbol commercially.
"Here in the U.S., we consider how heavily a trademark is used, and that would give SmileyWorld a big uphill battle," Marc E. Ackerman, a New York-based partner at the White & Case law firm and a specialist in U.S. trademark law, told the newspaper.
Myself, I would be greatly surprised if Wal-Mart didn't win this battle. (more
here)
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