Wal-Mart loses trademark on smiley face :)

[DSF Guest 8]

Wal-Mart loses trademark on smiley face

Greg sez, "In its claims for trademark infringement against an online parodist, Wal-Mart claimed that it had trademark rights in the ubiquitous yellow smiley face. Not only did Wal-Mart lose its case, the judge held it had no rights in the smiley face mark. The smiley face has been liberated!"

"This ruling shows that even the biggest company in America is subject to parody, and that trademark rights must yield to the right of free speech. This is a resounding victory for First Amendment rights and sends a clear message to big corporations that would try to use their deep pockets to intimidate and silence their critics."


Assholes!

[Shasturbator]

hell yeah.....nice to see them do down once and a while

[The Godfather]

http://www.ajc.com/search/content/me...mart_0326.html

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 03/25/08

A Conyers man may continue criticizing Wal-Mart with parodies on T-shirts that compare the retail giant to the Holocaust and al-Qaida terrorists, a federal judge has ruled.

Wal-Mart lost its case against Charles Smith of Atlanta. A federal court ruled that Smith may continue to maintain his Web sites, www.walocaust.com and www.walqaeda.com and sell merchandise criticizing Wal-Mart.

Rejecting Wal-Mart's claim of trademark infringement, U.S. District Judge Timothy Batten in Atlanta ruled that Charles Smith may maintain his Web sites, www.walocaust.com and www.walqaeda.com. Smith also may continue to sell novelty, satirical merchandise that criticizes the company, the judge said.

"It's great," Smith, 50, from Conyers, said Tuesday about the ruling. "I'm relieved. Whenever you go into litigation against such a big company, you never know the outcome."

"This is a resounding victory for First Amendment rights and sends a clear message to big corporations that would try to use their deep pockets to intimidate and silence their critics," said one of Smith's attorneys, Paul Alan Levy of Public Citizen.

Sharon Weber, a Wal-Mart spokeswoman, said the company is studying the decision and considering its options for appeal. "We feel we have a duty to defend our trademarks and other intellectual property," Weber said.

Smith, who runs a computer store across the street from a Wal-Mart in Covington, invented the term "Walocaust" to express his feelings about the company. He created "Walocaust" designs to call attention to his beliefs and to get others to join his cause.

Once a Wal-Mart shopper, Smith said he came to believe that the company has a destructive effect on communities and treats workers badly.

In July 2005, Smith began marketing T-shirts bearing "I [heart] Wal-ocaust" logos. Another reads, "Wal-Qaeda, The Dime Store From Hell." He sold a few dozen of them through CafePress, an online retailer that imprints shirts with designs created by individuals.

In late 2005 and early 2006, Wal-Mart sent letters demanding that CafePress cease selling all of Smith's products. The retailer soon removed all of Smith's Wal-Mart-related merchandise from its online store.

Smith then filed suit against Wal-Mart to seek a judgment allowing him to continue marketing his satirical logos and designs. A month later, Wal-Mart countersued and said the "tasteless" and "repulsive" logos tarnished its trademarks and business reputation. It also objected to Smith's registration and use of the www.walocaust.com Internet domain name.

In his ruling, Batten noted that Smith has a disclaimer on his "Walocaust" Web site, noting that it has no affiliation with Wal-Mart Stores Inc. The disclaimer also provides a link to the real Wal-Mart site if browsers want to go there.

Wal-Mart possesses strong and widely recognized trademarks, and the terms "Walocaust" and "Wal-Quaeda" are clearly a play on the famous Wal-Mart name, Batten wrote. For that reason, the judge ruled, it is unlikely that someone would confuse Wal-Mart's trademarks with Smith's parodies — "particularly one that calls to mind the genocide of millions of people, [and] another that evokes the name of a notorious terrorist organization."

Batten added that he found the designs to be "successful parodies."

[bdpeace]

Every time you shop at Wal-Mart, America dies a little inside.

And god kills a puppy.

[SexyLion]

As a trademark lawyer I can tell you that they did not lose or win, you are allowed to use someone elses trademark for PARADOY, that is why you see the funny fake ads, and things like that. So, Walmart did not lose thier trade/service mark on the YELLOW SMILEY FACE, they only lost this case (and whatever lawyer told them to base the case on that is one lousy attorney...)

BTW, I do not give two shits about ripping and sharing music...I am of the library belief. We have a place that lets you borrow things for your own enjoyment without buying them and people still buy books. So, keep on sharing...

[lolo]

the artists only make 20 cents or so on each CD anyways which only adds up when you're doing Brittney Spears type numbers. even MJ in his heyday only made 50 cents per CD sold.

Live shows is where they make their money and songwriting royalties.

[goonarms]

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Absofuckinglutly

[SexyLion]

aCTUALLY SOME OF THE BIGGEST STARS GET $1 DOLLAR PER CD. But, the problem is that record companies take so much back in mixing, studio time, promotional deals that the star makes pennies like you say. That is why when someone says they have a record deal I laugh and say you are better off without one.