Free the smiley!

[Jwrussell]

Link

A Conyers man has won a two-year legal battle with Wal-Mart, which has demanded he stop making and selling T-shirts, beer steins and other items that sport slogans such as “Wal-ocaust” and “Wal-Qaeda.”

U.S. District Judge Timothy C. Batten Sr. rejected Wal-Mart's claims that Charles Smith, a 50-year-old computer store owner who thinks the retailing giant is “taking over the world,” violated the company's trademark.

“The fact that the real Wal-Mart name and marks are strong and recognizable makes it unlikely that a parody—particularly one that calls to mind the genocide of millions of people, another that evokes the name of a notorious terrorist organization … will be confused with Wal-Mart's real products,” wrote Batten.

In a meticulously crafted, 87-page order that eviscerated conclusions by Wal-Mart's expert witness, the judge explained that Smith's products qualified as protected noncommercial speech because his goal was to criticize Wal-Mart, not to make a profit from his products. The judge noted that Smith had sold only 62 T-shirts, including 15 to one of Wal-Mart's outside law firms.

Batten also noted that the yellow smiley face that adorns Wal-Mart signs is not entitled to common-law trademark protection, a decision that one of Smith's lawyers said could hurt Wal-Mart in an unrelated, pending trademark action over the right to the sunny symbol of happiness.

Nice to see common sense prevail now and then.

 

[dpricenator]

F Wal-Mart. worst customer service ever. I can't wait toleave as soon as I walk in.

 

[Jwrussell]

I try to shop Target. The Walmarts around here all seem to be trashy and even the nicer ones have horribly long lines. I've never understood their practice of building up a store with 25 check out lines and using an average of 5 of them.

 

[Electric Sheep]

The Wal-Mart in the hick town where my parents live is a nice, clean, friendly store that really is a pleasant place to shop.

But here in the city, every Wal-Mart is a rat-infested, dirty, stinky, shit box full of illegal aliens dumping dirty baby diapers on the floor.

I won't step foot in a Wal-Mart in the city. They SUCK.

The odd part is that there's a Target near every one of these downtrodden in-city Wal-Mart stores, and they're not piss-filled crack houses...so it's obviously not a problem with the location. There's a definite corporate mentality problem with Wal-Mart.

 

[CWS]

I lused to look at Walmart as the store in the boonies that had verything you need. Then they started popping up evrywhere pushing small business out. Dealing with them as a Vendor isw a nightmare. I think old Sam Walton is rolling in his grave over what they did to his store.

 

[BradMc]

If u ever get a chance see the HBO special about Wal-Mart, If that doesn't sell u to go to others stores.......well I'm sorry

 

[Angry Bill]

I go to the famous French shopping mecca, known as "Target" at times.. hehe

 

[Jwrussell]

Would that be "Tar-Zhay"? :rofl: