The Smiley Company
A London-based brand licensing company built around the registered Smiley face identity and related visual properties.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
The Smiley Company is a United Kingdom-based brand licensing business that commercializes the Smiley face as a protected visual identity. Trading through SmileyWorld Limited, the company licenses the mark, associated artwork, and related brand concepts to manufacturers, retailers, fashion labels, technology companies, and consumer-product businesses. Its licensed categories include apparel and textiles, toys, stationery, puzzles, party goods, accessories, and other lifestyle products. The business traces its commercial origins to French journalist and advertising consultant Franklin Loufrani. In 1971, while working with the newspaper France-Soir, Loufrani created a positive-news campaign in which a stylized smiling face appeared within the publication's branding alongside an invitation to take time to smile. He registered his version of the symbol for commercial use in France before the campaign began. The image was initially distributed on stickers, particularly to university students, and later spread through public spaces, notebooks, bags, bars, vehicles, and promotional activity. By the middle of the 1970s, the company states that more than 10 million stickers had been produced and distributed. The Smiley moved from promotional giveaway to licensed property during the 1970s. One early large-scale deal involved Bonitos, a confectionery product marketed in Europe as an alternative to M&M's in markets where the M&M's name could not be used. The Smiley appeared on the product's chocolate discs. The company also identifies Levi's as an early fashion licensee. These agreements established the commercial model that remains central to the business: the company does not primarily sell a single manufactured product, but grants partners permission to use its visual identity across product categories and campaigns. Franklin Loufrani and his son Nicolas expanded the trademark portfolio internationally during the late twentieth century. In 1996, they founded The Smiley Company in London. Nicolas Loufrani subsequently developed a large library of graphical emoticons, including three-dimensional and themed smiley designs. Those images were registered with the United States Copyright Office in 1997 and published online as GIF files in 1998. The related SmileyWorld brand helped extend the business from a single emblem into a broader system of expressive digital and consumer graphics. During the early 2000s, the company licensed emoticon-related rights to telecommunications and technology companies, including Nokia, Motorola, and Samsung, and assembled an online dictionary containing thousands of graphical symbols. The company's expansion has also involved substantial trademark enforcement. A United States trademark dispute with Walmart began with a 1997 application and continued through opposition proceedings and later litigation. The parties reached an out-of-court settlement in 2011. In 2023, The Smiley Company pursued action against online sellers over use of the word and imagery associated with Smiley products, including a case involving hundreds of Etsy sellers. The company later dropped that lawsuit while saying that discussions with Etsy would continue. The company operates through licensing, collaborations, and brand partnerships rather than through a conventional vertically integrated retail network. It established a London design studio in 2007 and has worked with fashion and lifestyle partners including Moschino and Crocs. Its charitable initiative, first announced as the Smiley World Association and later known as Smiley Fund and Smiley Movement, has been described as receiving 10 percent of company profits. The Smiley brand has consequently developed into a globally recognizable intellectual-property platform spanning physical merchandise, fashion collaborations, digital graphics, promotional campaigns, and social-impact activity.
History
The commercial history of The Smiley Company begins with Franklin Loufrani's work in French journalism, advertising, and poster promotion. Before developing the smiley identity, Loufrani experimented with protected words, promotional concepts, and graphic communication. In 1971, while serving as a freelance business consultant for France-Soir, he helped create a campaign intended to emphasize positive news. A stylized smiley appeared in the newspaper's visual presentation with the phrase "take the time to smile." Loufrani had registered his version of the symbol with the French trademark office before the campaign was launched. The early Smiley campaign relied on free distribution rather than conventional retail sales. Loufrani supplied stickers to university students and other young people during a period of social and economic uncertainty in France. The stickers appeared on bags, notebooks, vehicles, lampposts, storefronts, and in bars. Their use expanded beyond the original newspaper promotion, turning the symbol into a recognizable sign of optimism. By 1975, the company reported that more than 10 million stickers had been made and distributed. Licensing became the foundation of the business during the 1970s. Bonitos, a confectionery product marketed in Europe, used the Smiley on its chocolate discs in France and other European markets. The arrangement provided an early example of the symbol functioning as a substitute or complementary brand element on a mass-market product. Levi's subsequently became an early fashion user of the smiley on jeans. These agreements helped move the image from promotional ephemera into commercial merchandising. During the 1990s, Franklin Loufrani and his son Nicolas built an international trademark portfolio and licensed the design to companies including Levi Strauss & Co. The Loufranis founded The Smiley Company in London in 1996. Nicolas then expanded the property into digital communication by creating hundreds of graphical emoticons, including a three-dimensional smiley design. The images were registered in the United States in 1997 and published as internet GIF files in 1998. The SmileyWorld brand emerged from this work and gave the company a larger family of expressive symbols rather than a single static logo. In the early 2000s, the company licensed emoticon-related assets to telecommunications and technology businesses such as Nokia, Motorola, and Samsung. Nicolas Loufrani also organized the images into a categorized online dictionary. By 2002, the dictionary contained more than 3,000 graphical images. This digital expansion connected the company's historical use of stickers and printed merchandise with emerging mobile-phone and internet communication. Trademark protection and enforcement have been recurring features of the company's development. The company filed a United States trademark application in 1997. Walmart opposed the application, arguing that aspects of the design could create confusion with its own use of a smiley face. The dispute continued through administrative and federal proceedings before the companies settled in 2011. In the online-commerce era, The Smiley Company adopted a more aggressive anti-piracy approach. In 2023, it brought actions involving online sellers, including a case against more than 700 Etsy sellers over use of the word and associated imagery. The company subsequently dropped that case while indicating that it would continue discussions with Etsy. The business broadened its design and fashion operations in the 2000s. A London design studio was established in 2007, and collaborations followed with fashion houses and consumer brands. The Moschino project known as "Smiley for Moschino" and later partnerships with Crocs demonstrate the company's strategy of placing the identity on recognizable products while allowing collaborators to adapt it to their own design languages. Crocs introduced Smiley Jibbitz charms in 2017 and worked with the company again on a branded shoe in 2021. The company also developed a social-purpose dimension. In 2005 it announced the Smiley World Association, later renamed Smiley Fund and then Smiley Movement. The company has described donating 10 percent of profits to this charitable arm. By 2017, the business was associated with 210 million products sold through licensing and partnership arrangements. License Global included The Smiley Company among its influential brands of the 2010s in a 2020 review. In 2021, the company produced a short film about the brand's history as part of activity around the fiftieth anniversary of the 1971 Smiley creation. Today, The Smiley Company remains primarily an intellectual-property and licensing enterprise spanning fashion, consumer goods, digital graphics, and social-impact programs.
- 2023
Online seller enforcement campaign
[1]The company filed actions against online sellers, including more than 700 Etsy sellers, as part of an anti-piracy effort.
- 2021
Fiftieth-anniversary film produced
[1]The company produced a short film about the Smiley's history in connection with the fiftieth anniversary of its 1971 creation.
- 2020
Included among influential brands of the decade
[1]License Global included The Smiley Company in its summary of influential brands of the 2010s.
- 2017
Large-scale licensed-product presence reported
[1]The company was reported to be responsible for 210 million products sold under partnership and licensing agreements.
- 2011
Walmart trademark dispute settled
[1]The Smiley Company and Walmart resolved their United States trademark dispute out of court.
- 2007
London design studio established
[1]The company created a London design studio to support collaborations and product development.
- 2005
Charitable arm announced
[1]The Smiley World Association was announced and later evolved into Smiley Fund and Smiley Movement.
- 2002
United States word-mark registration
[1]The company held a United States registration for the term associated with the Smiley brand.
- 1998
Smiley graphics published online
[1]The graphical emoticons were published as GIF files, extending the brand into internet communication.
- 1997
Graphical emoticon program developed
[1]Nicolas Loufrani created hundreds of graphical emoticons and registered the images with the United States Copyright Office.
Products and positioning
A globally licensed positivity and self-expression brand whose core asset is a protected smiley-face identity adapted for consumer products, fashion, digital communication, and social-impact initiatives.
Brand licensing · 1971
Smiley trademark and logo
The company's central offering is the licensed use of its stylized smiley identity. Partners apply the mark to apparel, accessories, stationery, toys, food-related merchandise, promotional material, and other consumer products under agreements controlled by The Smiley Company.
Digital graphics and emoticons · 1997
SmileyWorld
SmileyWorld is the broader expressive-graphics program developed around Nicolas Loufrani's graphical emoticons. It includes themed smileys and other communication images designed for use in digital services, mobile communication, merchandise, and licensing programs.
Apparel and accessories · 1970
Licensed fashion and textiles
Fashion licensing is one of the company's principal commercial areas. The Smiley has appeared on clothing and textiles through relationships with brands and fashion houses, including early use by Levi's and later collaborations such as Moschino and Crocs.
Consumer products
Licensed toys, games, puzzles, and stationery
The company licenses the Smiley identity across play and school-related categories, including toys, puzzles, games, stationery, and party goods. These products extend the mark into gift, entertainment, seasonal, and family-oriented retail.
Footwear accessories · 2017
Smiley Jibbitz
Smiley Jibbitz are branded charms created with Crocs for attachment to compatible Crocs footwear. The collaboration used the Smiley as a customizable accessory and helped translate the identity into a fashion-personalization format.
Controversies
2023
Online marketplace seller lawsuits
The Smiley Company hired an anti-piracy specialist and filed a United States action involving more than 700 Etsy sellers, alongside additional actions against sellers on other online platforms. The company later dropped the Etsy lawsuit while stating that discussions with Etsy would continue.
Marketing campaigns
- 2021Smiley and Crocs footwear collaboration
International
Smiley and Crocs extended their partnership beyond Jibbitz charms with a Smiley-designed Crocs shoe.
Outcome. The collaboration expanded the Smiley presence in branded footwear and customizable lifestyle products.
- 2021Smiley history short film
International
The company produced a short film recounting the history of the Smiley in the run-up to the fiftieth anniversary of its creation by Franklin Loufrani.
Outcome. The film served as a heritage and brand-storytelling initiative.
- 2007Smiley for Moschino
International
The Smiley Company worked with Moschino on a fashion collaboration using the Smiley identity in the fashion-house's creative and commercial output.
Outcome. The project reinforced the company's positioning as a fashion-collaboration and licensing platform.
- 1971France-Soir positive-news campaign
France
A newspaper campaign used positive stories, a stylized smiley placed within the France-Soir branding, and the message "take the time to smile."
Outcome. The symbol gained public visibility and became the basis for later sticker distribution and licensing activity.
- 1970Smiley sticker distribution
France
Franklin Loufrani distributed smiley stickers, particularly among university students, where they were used on personal belongings and in public spaces.
Outcome. The image spread beyond the original newspaper promotion and developed broad cultural recognition in France.
Brand decisions
2023
Online anti-piracy enforcementOtherBackground
The company stated that unauthorized use of Smiley-related words and imagery on online marketplaces had continued for more than three years.
Action taken
It hired an anti-piracy firm and filed multiple actions, including a United States case against more than 700 Etsy sellers.
Aftermath
The company dropped the Etsy lawsuit and said it would continue direct discussions with Etsy.
2011
Settlement of Walmart trademark disputeOtherBackground
Walmart had opposed the company's United States trademark application, citing potential confusion involving smiley-face designs.
Action taken
The parties resolved the dispute through an out-of-court settlement.
Aftermath
The settlement ended the publicly described litigation without a reported final trial judgment.
2007
Investment in in-house design capabilityStrategyBackground
The company was expanding from trademark licensing into more active fashion and product collaboration.
Action taken
The Smiley Company established a design studio in London.
Aftermath
The studio supported partnerships with fashion houses and lifestyle companies, including Moschino and Crocs.
2005
Creation of a charitable armStrategyBackground
The company sought to connect the Smiley's positive cultural positioning with social-impact activity.
Action taken
It announced the Smiley World Association, later renamed Smiley Fund and Smiley Movement.
Aftermath
The company described the initiative as receiving 10 percent of profits for charitable purposes.
Share of profits donated. 10 percent (Announced in 2005; ongoing period not specified)
1997
Expansion into graphical emoticonsProduct launchBackground
Digital communication was creating new ways for recognizable symbols to be distributed and used.
Action taken
Nicolas Loufrani created hundreds of graphical emoticons and developed the SmileyWorld program.
Aftermath
The company licensed emoticon-related rights to telecommunications and technology companies and extended the brand into internet and mobile communication.
1996
Establishment of a dedicated London licensing companyStrategyBackground
The Loufranis had built an international trademark position around the Smiley and sought a dedicated corporate platform for its exploitation.
Action taken
Franklin and Nicolas Loufrani founded The Smiley Company in London.
Aftermath
The company developed a broader international licensing program covering consumer goods, fashion, and digital communication.
1975
Shift from stickers to commercial licensingStrategyBackground
The Smiley had gained visibility through free sticker distribution but needed commercial channels to turn recognition into a sustainable business.
Action taken
The company entered a major licensing arrangement allowing Bonitos confectionery to use the Smiley on chocolate discs in European markets.
Aftermath
The agreement helped establish licensing as the company's primary commercial model and was followed by additional consumer and fashion partnerships.
Recent events
- 2021
Smiley collaborates with Crocs on a branded shoe[1]
Product launch
The companies renewed their relationship with a Crocs shoe incorporating Smiley branding.
- 2021
Smiley produces film marking the brand's history[1]
Campaign
The company produced a short film about the history of the Smiley in connection with the fiftieth anniversary of Franklin Loufrani's 1971 creation.
- 2017
Smiley launches Crocs Jibbitz collaboration[1]
Product launch
Smiley and Crocs introduced branded Jibbitz charms designed for Crocs footwear.
- 2017
Smiley reaches reported large-scale licensed product output[1]
Other
The company was reported to have been responsible for 210 million products sold through partnership and licensing agreements.
- 2011
Smiley Company and Walmart settle United States trademark dispute[1]
Lawsuit
The parties resolved a long-running dispute over registration and possible confusion involving smiley-face designs without proceeding to a final public trial judgment.
- 2007
Smiley Company expands fashion collaboration program[1]
Campaign
The company established a London design studio and developed collaborations with fashion and lifestyle brands, including Moschino and later Crocs.
- 2005
Smiley Movement established as the company's charitable initiative[1]
Other
The company announced a charitable arm that was subsequently renamed Smiley Fund and later Smiley Movement, with the company describing a contribution of 10 percent of profits.
Sources1 sources
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