Walmart Inc. has taken on Kanye West in a trademark dispute, claiming the rapper's Yeezy LLC logo looks too much like the "spark" it has used for more than a decade.
West filed his trademark application on Jan. 3, 2020, according to U.S. Patent and Trademark Office records. The office published the application on Dec. 22 to allow for the filing of objections. Walmart filed its opposition notice on April 21.
The Yeezy logo is described in its application as a "sun with rays," and is depicted as an eight-pronged pattern around an empty circular center. Each ray is made up of three gray dots. The application doesn't state an actual color for the logo.
Walmart's spark logo consists of six bright yellow "rays" arranged in a circle with an empty center. The Bentonville-based retailer's use of the symbol that replaced its yellow "smiley face" dates back to at least 2007, according to Walmart's opposition filing.
Since then, Walmart's filing states, the mark "has become well known and famous as a distinctive indicator of the origin of Opposer's goods and services and a symbol of Opposer's goodwill."