9 Worst Attempts to Create Company Trademarks

Protecting one's brand is a cardinal rule of business, but sometimes attempts to trademark phrases and the like seem off the mark. 24/7WallSt rounds up nine of what it sees as the most absurd:

• Nintendo, "It's On Like Donkey Kong:" The video game company wants to own rights to this phrase, which can be traced back to a 1992 song by Ice Cube.

• Subway, "Footlong:" The sub-maker has applied to register this common phrase and prevent other restaurants from advertising 12-inch meals.
• Wal-Mart, Smiley Face: The megastore was disappointed to find it could not gain rights to this 1970s classic.

Click here to read the full list.