Disney and Deadmau5 Fight Over Rights to Mouse Ears
Disney and the electronic musician Deadmau5, pronounced "dead-mouse," are headed for court over... ears? The multi-billion-dollar company has made an official legal challenge of the musician's signature mouse-head costume, saying it is too similar to their "iconic" Mickey Mouse ears.
However, the popular DJ is not backing down. Deadmau5 has been boasting of his legal security, defiantly tweeting, "Lawyer up mickey."
Deadmau5's lawyer, Dina LaPolt, said the star DJ's logo is already registered as a trademark in 30 countries, such as Ireland, the U.K. and Germany, but not in America. An application to the patent and trademark office was filed in June 2013.
According to TMZ, Disney filed a 171-page opposition paper this month.
"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," LaPolt said in a recent statement.
In the unfiltered version, the artist, whose real name is Joel Thomas Zimmerman, tweeted, "Disney thinks you might confuse an established electronic musician/performer with a cartoon mouse. That's how stupid they think you are."
Even back in 2012, similarities were being drawn between Steamboat Willy and the EDM DJ. When an interviewer for a Rolling Stone cover story asked if he thinks he resembles Disney's most famous character, Deadmau5 jokingly said, "Someone at the Disney patent office fell asleep on that one."
Disney's lawyers claim the mouse ears on Deadmau5 are "nearly identical in appearance, connotation, and overall commercial impression," to Mickey's ears. They added that the "mau5head" is "likely ... to cause confusion, or to cause mistake, or to deceive."
"[We] will not be bullied," LaPolt said. And the 33-year-old Canadian appears to be antagonizing the Disney Corporation.
"Sorry," he tweeted, "im no little b*tch whos going to fold under a money hungry corporation over some bullsh*t. you do your thing tho. k?"
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