Disney vs. Deadmau5: Did The DJ Jack Mickey’s Ears?
Deadmau5 is synonymous with the take-off of electronic dance music (EDM) in the United States. Teenagers popping ecstasy and filling up gigantic venues for extremely lucrative festivals are more than likely to list him as one of their favorite DJs. Even Deadmau5 himself says that he’s one of the top draws available, but a case of Disney vs. Deadmau5 might stand to rip his signature mouse ears right off of his head.
While deadmau5 has used the rodent cap as an integral part of his branding and stage show for upwards of five years, it was only recently that he decided to copyright it. This did not sit well with Disney, who has enjoyed nearly a century of using the universal symbol to establish its expansive empire of movies, theme parks and everything in between. While Deadmau5 had already registered the trademark in 30 countries worldwide, his decision to file for the copyright this June pushed Disney to open the Disney vs. Deadmau5 case Tuesday, first reported TMZ.
Deadmau5 tweeted the news to his fans upon learning that the Disney vs. Deadmau5 dispute had been opened.
landed home to some interesting news: looks like Disney officially just filed in opposition of my trademark… lawyer up mickey.
— Goat lord (@deadmau5) September 3, 2014
Deadmau5 later followed up this tweet with the much harsher:
Disney thinks you might confuse an established electronic musician / performer with a cartoon mouse. That's how stupid they think you are.
— Goat lord (@deadmau5) September 3, 2014
Dina LaPolt, the DJ’s lawyer in the Disney vs. Deadmau5 case, was more formal in her statement, but it seems like Deadmau5’s tweets summarize the idea of what his argument will be against Disney in court.
“Given that the mau5head, and other identifying Deadmau5 trademarks, have been used in the US and around the world for almost a decade, we wonder why Disney is only now coming after Deadmau5.”
However, Deadmau5 may have already said a few things that he’ll be regretting should they show up in court. The DJ had mentioned the similarity between his signature mouse ears and the Disney logo in a 2012 interview with Rolling Stone, perhaps seeing a bit of Disney vs. Deadmau5 in his future.
“Someone at the Disney patent office fell asleep on that one.”
Deadmau5 had been known for his brash arrogance in the EDM community, starting drama at Miami Ultra music festival this March with Tiësto and Avicii, reported DNAIndia. All three of the DJs were included on Forbes recent list of the highest paid DJs in the world. Deadmau5 came in at number 5 with an impressive $21 million in earnings. Unfortunately, he might need it to pay court fees and trademark violations if the Disney vs. Deadmau5 suit doesn’t turn out in his favor.
[Image via deadmau5]
