According to a report from TMZ, the major entertainment corporation Disney is attempting to block DJ/producer Deadmau5 from trademarking his iconic headgear. Deadmau5, who has been wearing the costume for 10 years, filed paperwork to register the mousey headgear with the US Patent and Trademark office.
Disney is claiming that the Deadmau5 logo is too similar to their Mickey Mouse ears logo, which they have been using for over 60 years. According to Disney’s claim, granting this trademark would ultimately hurt Disney’s business worldwide.
Deadmau5’s attorney commented to TMZ that the headgear is already trademarked in 30 other countries, including Japan, the U.K., Germany and Italy. The producer is unwilling to back down, and is prepared to fight Disney to protect his image and property.
landed home to some interesting news: looks like Disney officially just filed in opposition of my trademark…Â lawyer up mickey.
— deadmau5 (@deadmau5) September 3, 2014
Disney thinks you might confuse an established electronic musician / performer with a cartoon mouse. That’s how stupid they think you are.
— deadmau5 (@deadmau5) September 3, 2014
Disney has an overzealous reputation for protecting their Mickey Mouse image. In 1998, Disney lobbied for the passing of the “Copyright Term Extension” act into law, which would prohibit early Mickey Mouse cartoons from becoming public domain. As such, this bill was nicknamed the Mickey Mouse Protection Act.
We’ll be sure to update as this legal battle unfolds.
-David Melamed (@DMelamz)
Â