Want to Smile? Get ready to pay… :(

A Russian operator of mobile advertising, Superfon, registered “Smiley”(Smiley is a stylized representation of a smiling human face, commonly represented as a yellow circle (or sphere) with two dots representing eyes and a half circle representing the mouth) as its trademark. Now the company intends to charge everyone who uses its trademark in its commercial advertising.


Smileys have become extremely popular all over the world for their ability to help people express their simple emotions online. Superfon registered the winking smiley – ;-) - at the Russian Patent Agency, Rospatent. Other smileys - :-), ;) and :) - are considered similar to the registered winking smiley and thus should not be used in commercial purposes.

Author’s Tip: Stop smiling. LOL instead.