The Walmart corporation wants Kanye West to change the logo representing his Yeezy LLC. New reports claim the multinational retail giant filed an objection with the United States Patent and Trademark Office against the billionaire Hip Hop mogul’s 2020 trademark application.
West’s Yeezy emblem is made up of forty dots arranged into eight lines spreading out in different directions which resemble stylized rays of sunlight. West is expected to use the symbol for the sale and marketing of sneakers, clothing, furniture, musical sound recordings, retail store services, and other items.
Walmart is arguing Yeezy LLC’s image is too similar to its 13-year-old, six-lined sun rays design. In the legal paperwork, the company suggests the Yeezy mark could cause consumers to mistakenly believe the two brands are connected.
The Bentonville, Arkansas-headquartered business contends because it “often partners with celebrities to create special lines of products and services,” Yeezy’s logo could cause the “dilution of the distinctive value” of Walmart’s logo. The company reportedly sent an April 19-dated letter to attorneys representing Yeezy LLC.
“As we referenced in our correspondence in July and August of 2020, January and February of 2021 and our telephone conference in March of 2021, Walmart has repeatedly sought to understand Yeezy’s planned use of the Yeezy Application, with the goal of finding ways in which the Walmart Spark Design and the Yeezy Application can co-exist with one another,” read the letter, according to the New York Post.
The quoted message from Walmart continued, “However, to date, we have not received any conclusive information from Yeezy regarding the planned use or any cooperation from Yeezy in order to find common ground.” In addition, the world’s largest private employer maintains Yeezy’s trademark application should be blocked because the Walmart logo has been in use since 2007 which precedes Yeezy LLC’s filing date of January 3, 2020.
Last June, several Hip Hop artists publicly blasted Walmart for selling fraudulent pendants associated with some of the top rappers in the entertainment industry. After seeing fake replicas of his 4PF jewelry were available for purchase on Walmart.com, Atlanta’s Lil Baby tweeted, “Walmart got me [f#####] up.”
21 Savage later backed up Lil Baby when the Grammy winner discovered bogus “Savage Gang” necklaces were being sold on the Walmart website as well. The I Am > I Was album creator tagged his fellow Georgia-bred rap star on an Instagram Story post with a caption that read, “@lilbaby_1 We finna own 1.”
