Walocaust T-Shirts Tick Off Wal-Mart

• March 9, 2006

ATLANTA — A Georgia man has filed a lawsuit against Wal-Mart in federal district court in Atlanta in a fight over his T-shirts that compare the retailer’s business practices to the Holocaust.
Charles Smith has been marketing shirts that read, “I (heart) Wal-ocaust” T-shirts. Wal-Mart filed a cease-and-desist order in an attempt to make him stop printing the shirts.
The company said Smith is engaging in trademark infringement. It has threatened to sue Smith if he continues to display the logos on his Web site and to print them on his products.

Here’s a sample of one of Mr. Smith’s logos:

Tags: Asshats

http://Array Jacob

Heheh, I want one of these. If you like the shirt, you might like WalBtn, which let’s you show the world how long it’s been since you set foot in Walmart. Here’s the URL:

http://www.jacobhanson.com/2006/02/me-and-wal-mart/

<a xhref="www.jacobhanson.com/2006/02/me-and-wal-mart/">www.jacobhanson.com/2006/02/me-and-wal-mart/</a>
http://www.myspace.com/raven_blackbane Raven Blackbane

When I hear “Walmart” I think of “K-Mart”. Is Walmart taking over K-Mart’s trademark?
http://proof-proofpositive.blogspot.com/ proof_positive

It ought to be protected speech, in the form of satire. But, the way liberals have defined “hate speech”, this would qualify for that too!
http://www.charles-walocaust-smith.com/ Tracy

Ian says,
"There is no trademark infringement at all. Please review any of the case law.
It is a certainly walmart would lose in court and most likely the guy can make a pretty penny for a counter claim. The legal blogs have already explained this.
 

But Ian must not understand "likeness" when it comes to trademark issues. This will be a easy win for Wal Mart. I can’t wait to see the arguments that Mr. Smith will try to make, lol, if its a freedom of speech issue he tries he’s in for another lesson!
 

http://www.charles-walocaust-smith.com

~Tracy 
 
hehehe

Well, so if their claim is the happy face, does this is going to cancel the happy face on the comment line in this website? I think not.

As for the infringement, perhaps they are reffering to the suastica used by Nazzi troops during the WW2 fiasco. Perhaps they are owned by Nazzi’s. You never know who is next in line selling USA. 
Ian

I guess there’s just no forking over my "Nappy Yeaster" or "KKKwanzaa" overtones shaved in my buzz-mullet.  If you can still buy one, send it to a rehabber.
Robert Perry

Dave, you’d have a good idea IF the idea wasn’t to belittle the Holocaust.  Even in Arkansas, I’m pretty sure the Waltons know that’s one third rail they DON’T want to pee on.
AC

Sweet! I want one too. I’m going to make my own if I can’t buy them. I don’t need to sell them, I would love to make about 20 of them and hand them out to friends and homeless people. I’m pretty artsy, so this is gonna be a blast. BTW, I just watched Walmart The Movie- High cost of low prices.

You should all see it. I was unaware that Wal-Mart was such a bad company run by their evil Christian owners! (How gross is that.)
Juan

where can we get one of those shirts?!?!?!
Sherard

Come on guys, this is simple.  We all agree that is a close facsimile of the WalMart logo.  You want to draw it, print shirts with it, great.  You want to SELL those shirts ?  Busted.

"He designed his first logo in July. One shirt — with "Wal-ocaust" printed above an eagle and a smiley face sold on Nov. 16 and netted Smith $5.10."

You cannot profit by using someone elses trademark.  I lived in a town where a fishing and otherwise outdoor sporting goods store called themselves "LL Dean".  Guess who made them change the name of their store?  LL Bean.  The local Ice Cream shop had a flavor they called "Pralines and Cream".  Guess who else has that same flavor ?  Baskins and Robbins, and guess who doesn’t any more ?
electnixon

I’m with Robert Perry on this one.

I’m sick of folks disrespecting those who went through WWII and the Holocaust by comparing everything they don’t like to Hitler or the Holocaust.  The words "never forget" mean a lot to some of us, and misusing these symbols encourages society to forget how unforgivable our inaction during most of the Holocause truly was. 
Zsa Zsa

OOOOoooo! I want one. It didn’t look like infringment to me? They don’t own the happy face do they?
Zsa Zsa

Walmart should sell them, instead of acting weird…
Sigivald

I imagine the thing they consider infringing is the "WAL*", in the same color and weight and almost the same font (and at any rate a very similar one) as their real logo.

Not the happy-face or the Nazi eagle.

Just sayin’. It’s not like it’s hard to figure that part out, guys.

I also think they have no strong legal case, as this is obviously parody, and I don’t think anyone could be confused into thinking it’s an Actual WalMart Product(tm). But it’s not like there’s nothing even like a trademark infringement there, either.
http://teacherdave.blogspot.com/ Dave

I agree with Zsa Zsa.  If I were in charge over at Walmart, I’d have these or similar shirts made in China and then sent over, so I could sell them dirt cheap.

You want your anti-corporate protest tees?  We have ‘em on sale, here at the home of falling prices!
Robert Perry

Ian may have a point.  Given that the "entrepreneur’s" clear intent was to defame Walmart by connecting it with the third worst genocide known in history (after Stalin and Mao), I’d suggest that the proper charge is not trademark infringement, but rather libel.

But sorry, Ian, he’s using a modified form of Wal-Mart’s signage, very clearly.  This does happen to be trademark infringement.  Mr. Smith should just be glad that Wal-Mart’s lawyers are going for the solar plexus and not the jugular.

But more importantly, it shows that Mr. Smith has completely lost his perspective.  Even if Wal-Mart had put every small business out of business (and it hasn’t), it still doesn’t compare with the Holocaust.
Ian

I wish Wal-Mart good luck in terminating this pretty obvious trademark infringement for that reason. 

There is no trademark infringement at all. Please review any of the case law.

It is a certainly walmart would lose in court and most likely the guy can make a pretty penny for a counter claim. The legal blogs have already explained this.

 As far as "holocaust" the term became generic with wide usages quite some time ago.

Walmart needs some new PR strategies. 

 

 
Zsa Zsa

Jacob…It has been so long since I have been in Walmart! I quit going to Walmart before I ever knew I wasn’t supposed to go for political reasons? I do like Target though!
Robert Perry

If we want to forget the horrors of the Holocaust, we need only develop the habit of flippantly referring to anything bad in terms of it.  I wish Wal-Mart good luck in terminating this pretty obvious trademark infringement for that reason.  Hopefully, Mr. Smith will also get a visit from someone with a blue number tattoo to clarify for him what a real Holocaust is.  This is repulsive.

And yes, trademark infringement.  He’s using the same font, lettering, color, and smiley face that people rightly associate with Wal-Mart.
kbiel

I agree that the trademark infringement is bunk as this is obviously parody, but I think a defamation lawsuit is in order.  There is a point at which parody crosses the line and this one is way past that line.
http://sayanythingblog.com robport

Ian, since we’re all novices here and you clearly already know, could you point us in the direction of some of this case law which clearly indicates that Wal-Mart has no case?
http://sayanythingblog.com/readers/author/sparkiearbuckle sayanything-81

Rob

hiring millions of people and bringing millions more low prices

Make sure to collect for that plug. Wal*mart (more like Mao*mart) is great. Its the people’s store.

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Walocaust T-Shirts Tick Off Wal-Mart

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