Walmart Attempts to Block Yeezy’s Trademark Registration

Takeaway: Walmart claims Yeezy’s attempt to register a sunburst logo will cause consumer confusion in the marketplace.

Recently, Walmart is attempting to take down Kanye West at the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board over a trademark application for a logo looking like a sunburst. Walmart approached the board to block Yeezy LLC’s attempt to register the logo “arranged at equal angles as rays from a sun” citing its own “spark” logo covering modular homes, musical sound recordings, apparel, and hotel services, which include “highly related and directly overlapping” items and services encompassed in its existing registrations.

Walmart believes the similarities in the design will likely cause confusion and cause harm to Walmart’s business. Although Walmart and Yeezy are very different companies, Walmart often collaborates with celebrities and claims the Yeezy’s logo will cause sponsorship confusion.