The difficulty for Wal-Mart could be in trying to prove that Mr. Smiley is distinctive and that most people associate the yellow happy face with the giant Bentonville, Ark.-based retailer.

For decades the yellow happy-face symbol has encouraged millions to smile. The smiley face and “Have a Nice Day” helped to define the ’70s. With two dots and a pencil stroke, scho… ...

Wal-Mart is embroiled in a legal dispute over the smiley face image which it wants to trademark in the US. A Frenchman who claims to have invented the yellow smiley face back in 1968 is opposing the ...