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May 10, 2006

No Smiles in Smiley Face Battle

Wal-mart is currently in the courts battling Frenchman Franklin Loufrani over the rights to the smiley face, which Wal-mart has used for many years in their marketing and on promotional items from plush toys to Pez dispensers. Until the recent lawsuit, the smiley face has generally been considered to be public domain in the US. According to the BBC News, at least three people claim to have invented the smiley face logo in the 1960's. They also cite its varied uses: "It appears on number plates in the US state of Kentucky, has featured on an American postage stamp and was the unofficial symbol of the late 1980s acid house dance music movement."

wal-mart-smiley.jpg

Posted by mark at May 10, 2006 8:48 AM

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