If you ever had any doubt that Wal-Mart was a cruel, predatory, all-powerful, godless corporation (yeah, neither did I), then consider this: Wal-Mart is now trying to trademark that pop-culture icon, the smiley face. While its exact origin of is the subject of dispute, the ubiquitous yellow symbol has been around since the 1960’s. Wal-Mart only began using it in advertising campaigns beginning in 1996.
Does this mean every instant-message user have to start paying royalities for inserting a smiley?
The BBC has the full story here.
Hat tip: GMSV
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Wal-Mart. ::shudder::… hate them. What kind of balls does a company have to have in order to copyright something they didn’t even create?
Man .. I HATE them.
And how are you babe?
Trademarking the Smiley Face? - idiots!
If you hate them now you should read Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Enrenreich. The book is about living on minimum wage in the US. She takes a stab at doing several jobs that pay low wages one of them is at Wal-Mart.
Yeesh. I’m glad NYC is still Wall-mart free so I don’t have to lecture anyone about their shopping habits. Well, at least anymore than I already do.
I hate walmart, I much prefer Target. Hey Scott check out this anti walmart site it’s pretty funny and has beeen getting some press.
http://www.walocaust.com/site/
Wal-Mart is not the first company trying to trademark the smiley face. The first time it was tried, in ‘63, the company, State Mutual Life Insurance, were unable to do so because it was seen as having fallen into the public domain, meaning no one person or company can claim it as their own.
However, State Mutual are only one of quite a few who claim to have invented the smiley. As the article explains, company SmileyWorld claims to have invented it in 1968, and they say it is trademarked across 80 countries, not including the US.
First Wal-Mart tries to steal the smiley, then they get pissed off when someone tries to do the same to them, as Robbie’s walocaust site explains.
- I’m glad we don’t have Wal-Marts in this country. I’d have had to boycott them and everything.
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