Wal-Mart's Happy Yellow Smiley Face-Can They Use It?

The use of the Yellow Smiley Face goes back to at least as early as the 1970s--and was somewhat of an icon in the 1970s. The owner of what is allegedly the original use of the mark is a Frenchman, Franklin Loufrani. Over twenty years later, Mr. Loufrani filed a trademark application in the United States after many years of use and registrations in other foreign countries. Wal-Mart, however, apparently filed an opposition to registration of the mark which includes the word "smiley" as the Trademark Office previously denied registration of the smiley face alone as a decorative symbol. The Trademark Office is expected to rule in the decision this summer.

In our opinion, Wal-Mart, the company everyone loves to hate, will have reason to smile after the decision; but, time will tell! Wal-Mart's usage allegedly goes back to 1997--and their use of "Smiley", in our opinion, will not likely be confused with Mr. Loufrani and his company as the source of "Smiley." We welcome you to post your comments to this trademark battle by replying through the "comment" button at the end of this posting.