Love them or hate them, emoticons are part of the common currency of online correspondence. But could you imagine trademarking one?
Russian businessman Oleg Teterin can. He says the Russian federal patent agency has granted him a trademark on ;-), the emoticon used to convey a wink, and he’s planning on charging companies that use it.
On the Russian television channel NTV he said:
"I want to highlight that this is only directed at corporations, companies that are trying to make a profit without the permission of the trademark holder."
