:-( ®

[kelley]

Emoticons--icons such as ;-) or :-> that convey mood and other
nonverbal information in e-mail--are suddenly grabbing headlines.
Early this year, the "frowny" emoticon :-( was registered as a
trademark of Despair.com, thanks to the United States Patent and
Trademark Office (USPTO). No one was more surprised by the USPTO
decision than Despair, which had applied for the mark to
underscore the absurdity of many intellectual property disputes,
including Amazon.com's patent on 1-Click shopping.
http://www.despair.com/demotivators/frownonthis.html