Walmart moves against suggested Yeezy logo
Apr 28, 2021
Multinational retail corporation Walmart is going after Kanye West and his suggested Yeezy logo.
Walmart filed a notice of opposition with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office last week against a trademark application filed by Kanye West’s Yeezy company in 2020.
Walmart claims that the proposed logo looks similar enough to its own and that it is likely to cause confusion.
Kanye West’s Yeezy LLC filed the trademark application for registration of the logo with the intent to use it for clothing and retail store services, musical sound recordings and streaming, hotel services, and the construction of “non-metal modular homes,” among other things.
The design in question resembles the rays of a sun with eight dotted lines, each comprising three dots, for a total of 24 dots. It shares certain similarities to the Walmart logo, which has six yellow rays.
Beyond the suggested resemblance, Walmart also claims that further confusion could be bolstered by the fact that it “often partners with celebrities to create special lines of products and services,” and also “utilizes notable pop culture references to promote [its] goods and services.”
Walmart has indeed collaborated on product launches and marketing campaigns with celebrities like Jennifer Garner, the cast of 'Queer Eye', Drew Barrymore, Kendall and Kylie Jenner, Ellen DeGeneres, and Sofia Vergara, among others.
Walmart said that considering the arguments and the fact that they’ve been using their logo since 2007, Yeezy LLC’s application should be blocked.