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Why Can’t I Buy a Watchmen Smiley?
If you look at the Watchmen merchandise flooding stores these days the obvious question to ask is: “Why can’t I buy a smiley face button?” I mean, they even have a set of four movie-themed buttons and not one of them is a smiley or the iconic smiley with a red watch hand. This week when I went to buy my comics there were not one, not two, but three intellectual property attorneys there with me and none of knew the answer.
Of course that didn’t stop us from speculating. Is it possible that Alan Moore objected to the use of the recurring symbol from the comic and blocked its usage the same way he was able to exert his artists’ rights to stop DC from making Watchmen action figures? Quite possibly. Sure, there are Watchmen action figures now, but they are based on the movie designs of the characters (something Moore has no rights in). He was able to block DC from issuing a set of 20th anniversary figures based on the characters from the comic a few years ago. It’s possible that he used the same tactic to block the production of smiley merchandise that included the red watch hand.
What about some third party that owns the rights in the smiley face symbol? It’s possible that someone owned the rights (copyright, trademark, or both) in the smiley that was able to block the production of smiley movie merchandise but was unable to block Moore from using the image in the comic itself. For reasons too boring to explain here, it is easier to use someone else’s intellectual property in a creative context like a book or movie than it is in a mass merchandising context (If you really want to know why, give me a call and I’ll explain it to you for $200/ hour).
It appears, however, that no one owns a copyright or trademark on the smiley image in the US. But the rest of the world is another matter. It turns out a French company does own the trademark rights to the smiley face in Europe and several other countries around the world, just not in the US. So is it possible that we have the French to blame for not being able to buy an official Watchmen smiley button complete with the Comedian’s blood? It looks like the answer is, “Yes”:
WHO WATCHES THE TRADEMARKS?
[Green Light]So who else is getting a payout from the Watchmen Movie? Keen eyes watching the current trailer have seen a Smiley Logo: TM The Smiley Company credit attached, that wasn't on the first trailer. Clearly some lawyers also saw the first one and got a massive payout. Don't expect much Smiley Watchmen merchandise as a result.
From Comic Book Resources
It also appears that it is quite possible that the studio was unaware of a possible conflict until after they produced the first trailer for the movie (which would explain the lack of the Smiley Company acknowledgement until the second trailer). And if you search on eBay you can find numerous sellers of what appear to be very professionally produced Watchmen smiley buttons, frequently bundled with official Watchmen buttons of Rorschach and other characters that you can buy at your local comic shop.
I think what happened is someone at the studio greenlit the buttons, but then realized they had a problem when they got a nasty letter from the Smiley Corporation’s lawyers. Rather than get into yet another legal fight over this movie, they just told someone to toss all the buttons and scrapped plans for any other smiley-themed merchandise. Of course, a few boxes of buttons might have “accidentally” been thrown into the trunk of someone’s car rather than the dumpster and now they are showing up on eBay.
So if you want an “official” Watchmen smiley button, it looks like you had better get one off of eBay or some other sketchy web site now while the getting is good, because it is unlikely that the studio will be selling them any time soon. And you are completely justified if you want to blame it all on the French.
Of course that didn’t stop us from speculating. Is it possible that Alan Moore objected to the use of the recurring symbol from the comic and blocked its usage the same way he was able to exert his artists’ rights to stop DC from making Watchmen action figures? Quite possibly. Sure, there are Watchmen action figures now, but they are based on the movie designs of the characters (something Moore has no rights in). He was able to block DC from issuing a set of 20th anniversary figures based on the characters from the comic a few years ago. It’s possible that he used the same tactic to block the production of smiley merchandise that included the red watch hand.
What about some third party that owns the rights in the smiley face symbol? It’s possible that someone owned the rights (copyright, trademark, or both) in the smiley that was able to block the production of smiley movie merchandise but was unable to block Moore from using the image in the comic itself. For reasons too boring to explain here, it is easier to use someone else’s intellectual property in a creative context like a book or movie than it is in a mass merchandising context (If you really want to know why, give me a call and I’ll explain it to you for $200/ hour).
It appears, however, that no one owns a copyright or trademark on the smiley image in the US. But the rest of the world is another matter. It turns out a French company does own the trademark rights to the smiley face in Europe and several other countries around the world, just not in the US. So is it possible that we have the French to blame for not being able to buy an official Watchmen smiley button complete with the Comedian’s blood? It looks like the answer is, “Yes”:
WHO WATCHES THE TRADEMARKS?
[Green Light]So who else is getting a payout from the Watchmen Movie? Keen eyes watching the current trailer have seen a Smiley Logo: TM The Smiley Company credit attached, that wasn't on the first trailer. Clearly some lawyers also saw the first one and got a massive payout. Don't expect much Smiley Watchmen merchandise as a result.
From Comic Book Resources
It also appears that it is quite possible that the studio was unaware of a possible conflict until after they produced the first trailer for the movie (which would explain the lack of the Smiley Company acknowledgement until the second trailer). And if you search on eBay you can find numerous sellers of what appear to be very professionally produced Watchmen smiley buttons, frequently bundled with official Watchmen buttons of Rorschach and other characters that you can buy at your local comic shop.
I think what happened is someone at the studio greenlit the buttons, but then realized they had a problem when they got a nasty letter from the Smiley Corporation’s lawyers. Rather than get into yet another legal fight over this movie, they just told someone to toss all the buttons and scrapped plans for any other smiley-themed merchandise. Of course, a few boxes of buttons might have “accidentally” been thrown into the trunk of someone’s car rather than the dumpster and now they are showing up on eBay.
So if you want an “official” Watchmen smiley button, it looks like you had better get one off of eBay or some other sketchy web site now while the getting is good, because it is unlikely that the studio will be selling them any time soon. And you are completely justified if you want to blame it all on the French.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Ryan on -
Yah, easy to find on Ebay and various random websites.
http://www.koolbadges.co.uk/watchmen-smiley-slashed-p-1355.html
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Permalink Reply by Michael Costello on -
dammit...I really hate the French.
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Permalink Reply by David on -
That sucks. The blood splattered smiley would have made a great belt buckle.
Why didn't the US lawyers fight? The Smiley Company lawyers would have surrendered at the first sign of a fight. We are talking about the French, after all.
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Permalink Reply by Lamont Cranston on -
They should have hired a German law firm.
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