Fresh Loaf

Two years ago, we wrote about Charles Smith of Conyers and how his dislike of Wal-Mart had inspired him to create “Wal-Ocaust” T-shirts that he sold through the Internet. Smith had sold only one shirt (for $5.10) when the retail behemoth sent him a cease and desist letter that claimed he was infringing on the company’s trademarked symbols.

Smith enlisted Public Citizen — the consumer advocacy foundation started by Ralph Nader — and the Georgia chapter of the ACLU, and sued Wal-Mart for infringing on his right to free speech.

Last week, a federal court judge in Atlanta ruled in Smith’s favor. The court found that Smith’s T-shirts — which also include a “Wal-Qaeda” logo — are a parody and that no serious person could mistake a “Wal-Ocaust” symbol with the actual Wal-Mart smiley face icon.

“The terms ‘Walocaust’ and ‘Wal-Qaeda’ are clearly a play on the famous Wal-Mart name,” U.S. District Judge Timothy C. Batten, Sr. wrote in an 87-page decision. “The fact that the real Wal-Mart name and marks are strong and recognizable makes it unlikely that a parody — particularly one that calls to mind the genocide of millions of people, another that evokes the name of a notorious terrorist organization, or even one that simply refers to ‘Freedom Haters’ — will be confused with Wal-Mart’s real products. “

Wal-Mart complained that it was offended by being compared to Nazis and Arab terrorists. But that argument worked against them. “Indeed, as Wal-Mart has argued, by evoking the Holocaust and Al-Qaeda, Smith’s concepts are not merely unflattering, but veer toward the outrageous and offensive,” the court ruled. “This actually falls in Smith’s favor, as courts have held that the more distasteful and bizarre the parody, the less likely the public is to mistakenly think that the trademark owner has sponsored or approved it.”

The ruling also contained an amazing piece of trivia: Hormel Foods once sued Muppet creator Jim Henson because he created a character named “Spa’am.” They lost that case, too.

Click here to visit Smith’s website.

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Dale Russell of Fox 5 Atlanta reports that Carol Couch, director of the state Environmental Protection Division, may have engaged in a little favor dishing for Mike Evans, the state Department of Transportation board chairman.

Evans and some of his developer buddies had a proposed Wal-Mart project in Forsyth County. A stream ran through the land. With time running out on the development group’s contract with the big-box retailer, going through the EPD’s permitting process to build on it — you know, doing the right thing — would’ve been too time-consuming, they thought. So, according to the documents Russell obtained, Carol Couch — after a little prodding from U.S. Rep. Lynn Westmoreland, R-Ga., and Sen. Judson Hill, R-Marietta — overrides the variance and gives ‘em a pass. What ensues is confrontation journalism at some of its most awkward and delicious, although sadly there are no middle fingers or hands over lenses here.

Check it out. I’d heard that Russell had been holding this report until after the DOT election. I’m glad it’s out now. It’s a sad, sad state of affairs when the person looking out for the environmental well-being of the state has to be concerned with politicians’ business interests as well.

Oh, and the Wal-Mart planned for the site? Never built.

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