Last month a Georgia court rejected Wal-Mart’s claim of trademark infringement after a citizen critic formed a parody website resembling the Wal-Mart trademark.
Charles Smith of Atlanta, Georgia had a big win when the court ruled in his favor of freedom of speech. The website, www.walocaust.com, was formed by Smith in efforts to show society how the destruction of human beings is caused by corporations. Smith said that he wanted to come up with an expression that meant something to everybody. He said the Holocaust was a terrible tragedy that caused a great number of deaths and destroyed lives. So Walocaust was his idea of using this meaning behind a corporate name.
Smith’s other websites, www.walqaeda.com & www.cafepress.com , sell a variety of novelty products with the Wal-Mart “smiley face” being clutched by an eagle. This trademark can be found on T-shirts, bumper stickers, and other parodies.
Georgia district court believed that Smith’s trademark and Wal-Mart’s trademark could easily be distinguished for any reasonable person not to confuse. The court believes that Smith was only furthering his freedom of speech right and that no trademark infringement took place.
According to www.citmedialaw.com the trademark law’s purpose is to be used against any trademark that will confuse a consumer. However, this was not the case. Yes, the website and parodies are a critical commentary of Wal-Mart, but they are nothing alike. Also, each of Smith’s websites include a discalimer letting people know that the sites are not affiliated with Wal-Mart.
0 responses so far ↓
There are no comments yet...Kick things off by filling out the form below.