Disney Inc. and Joel Zimmermann aka Deadmau5 are about to go to court. The reason is obvious – Disney claims that Zimmermann’s ‘mau5head’ (a black-and-white replication of his mouse head, worn on stage) bears quite a resemblance to their own, Mickey Mouse-inspired icon.
Photo Credit: Pamela Lin
Feeling quite confidence in himself on this case, Deadmau5 stated via Twitter ‘he’s not stupid’ and ‘not to be confused’ with the lawsuit.
“Deadmau5 front facing mau5head is a registered trademark in 30 countries worldwide,” the musician’s attorney Dina LaPolt tells Rolling Stone. “In June of last year, Deadmau5 applied to register the front facing mau5head with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Disney is now opposing the U.S. filing. Given that the mau5head and other identifying Deadmau5 trademarks have been used in the U.S. and around the world for almost a decade, we wonder why Disney is only now coming after Deadmau5. Our client will not be bullied by Disney and is prepared to fight to protect his rights to his property.”
Deadmau5’s attorney also stated the logo is already trademarked in 30 major countries, including the U.K., Italy, Germany and Japan. Thus, if there was any notable damage it should have already been identified and addressed.
The reason Disney filed a 171-paged document trying to block Deadmau5 from registering a trademark for his logo in the U.S., is a commercialization of ‘mau5head’ – using it as a trademark for electronic equipment, toys, entertainment services, paper and leather goods, and even food products like coffee. Disney thinks that competing in market like this isn’t appropriate, appears to be misleading for the customer, and may cause heavy losses for the entertainment giant.
Concerning the fact that Zimmermann is far away from giving up on this case, stay tuned to find out what happens next in this dispute.
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