"When you’re smiling (The Whole World Smiles With You)" – So goes the song and yet the ubiquitous Smiley, "… a sketchy representation of a smiling face, most often coloured yellow…," is now at the center of an international trademark law dispute involving a little company called WALMART and a French firm known simply as Smileyworld. 

Read the International Herald Tribune story for the surprising history of the SMILEY as well as a brief overview of global trademark law issues. 

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