UPFRONT : Who says smiles cost nothing?

An ironic sign of increasingly commercialised times is the current trademarking battle over the ubiquitous ‘smiley face’.
The bright yellow circle with its two black oval ‘eyes’ over an upwardly bowed ‘mouth’ could have been independently invented by whole bunch of people – most of them in kindergartens – but its use in the United States is now subject to costly legal stoush between Wal-Mart (which has been using it in promotional signage for 10 years) and London-based SmileyWorld.
The latter’s founder, Frenchman Franklin Loufrani, is one of several people who claim to have ‘invented’ the symbol – in his case back in the late 1960s. Since then, SmileyWorld, now run by his son Nicholas Loufrani, has trademarked the icon in more than 80 countries and licensed users provide the private company with stready stream of dosh.
Attempts to claim trademark status in the US, where the smiley face is regarded as public domain, led to its run-in with Wal-Mart which wants to trademark the logo for its retail services.
Loufrani is meanwhile trying to push the logo into higher-value brand market and thinks Wal-Mart doesn’t fit the bill. Wal-Mart, in turn, has advised that its defence of the logo in the United States is precursor to using it globally.
Oddly enough, Wal-Mart’s spokesperson on the issue is John Simley. He could be smiley Simley if the decision – due this month – goes his company’s way.