A smiley, smiley face, happy face, or smiling face is a stylized version of a smiling human face, and had become ingrained in human culture by the 20th century.
Although it appeared as early as 1900, it was first trademarked for commercial use in France in 1971, and first appeared in print under that trademark on January 1, 1972.
By October 21, 2015, the Blast from the Past antique/memorabilia store in Hill Valley claimed that the original happy faces from 1972 had become "very rare".