Walmart says Kanye West’s new Yeezy logo is so similar to its own that customers might mix them up

[Business Insider]

• Walmart has challenged a logo’s trademark application submitted by Kanye West’s Yeezy brand.
• Walmart says Yeezy’s logo is so similar to its own that people may think the brands are affiliated.
• The company said in a USPTO filing first reported by Bloomberg that this could hurt Walmart’s brand.

Walmart has filed a complaint to the US Patent and Trademark Office, arguing that a proposed logo design for Kanye West’s Yeezy brand looks too much like the retail giant’s logo.

In its complaint, filed last week and reported Tuesday by Bloomberg, Walmart argued that Yeezy’s proposed design “is likely to cause confusion, mistake and deception” among consumers, potentially causing them to mistakenly associate Yeezy’s products with Walmart.

Yeezy’s proposed logo consists of eight three-dot spokes radiating outward in a star-like pattern. Walmart’s logo, which the company has used since 2007, has six solid spokes with rounded ends.

Walmart said a “false affiliation” between the two brands could “injure and damage” Walmart and the “goodwill” associated with its brand.

Representatives for West and Yeezy did not respond to requests for comment.

Yeezy, a shoe collaboration between West and Adidas — and soon to include a clothing collaboration with Gap — has been a boon for West’s personal wealth. UBS valued the collaborations as high as $4.7 billion, per Bloomberg, which could bring West’s net worth above $6 billion.

Walmart, which said in its complaint that it also collaborated with celebrities, had a market cap of $389.3 billion when markets closed Tuesday evening.

By Tyler Sonnemaker