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Wipe that smile off your face


They own everything else. Why not the patent on a smiley face, too.

It wasn't enough for Wal-Mart to destroy Main Street American business, to commit racist and sexist injustices, to turn itself into the world's largest retailer by selling cheap shit (probably made by 7-year-old child laborers in rural Pakistan) at even cheaper prices. (Go to http://walmartwatch.com for more examples.)

Now Wal-Mart thinks it owns the exclusive rights to the round, yellow smiling face it uses in its ads.

You know, the smiley face blatantly stolen from the icon of the '70s, which became plastered on everything from bumper stickers to beer mugs with the slogan, Have a nice day!

I'm guessing the Wal-Mart ad campaign began sometime after that. The company commenced plastering it all over stores and associates in 1996, in fact. Yet Wal-Mart feels compelled to snatch from the world the very symbol of happiness...deface it, if you will. Just because it can. Doesn't make me very happy at all.

It's up to the U.S. Patent Office now to decide whether Wal-Mart, or a Frenchman who claims he invented it in 1968, gets the rights to use it. A couple other people also are claiming THEY should own the rights. So this may not end soon.

Stealing smiles from the American public. Really. It can't get more wicked than that.

Comments

FletcherDodge said…
I thought Forrest Gump invented it...
3:14 PM
Brianne said…
Wal-Mart is totally evil and trying to dominate the world. Worse than Starbucks even. Did you know that they're trying to sell cars and start Wal-Mart BANKS??

Save America. Shop Target.
8:45 AM
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