here's an article about walmart trying to get the smiley face trademarked:

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0508-04.htm

here's a blurb:

A bit like smileys themselves, the trademarking of common words has become endemic. Apple Computers wanted to claim ownership of the word "apple"

that makes it sound like that nobody else would be allowed to use the word apple anymore. that's simply not the case. When you trademark a name like that, it's limited to the market you are in. No other computer company would be able to use the word apple for their product. Even though "apple" is a common word, it's not common in the computer industry, save for that one company. Like bicycle cards. blech.