"Lawyer up mickey." That's what deadmau5 has told Disney after the entertainment giant has chosen to challenge the DJ for the design of his mouse-ear. The claim here is that the ear design of Deadmau5 (pronounced dead mouse) is too similar to Mickey Mouse; thus, it needs to be changed.
We understand that Disney filed a 171-page opposition to deadmau5's trademark of the ears. This is possibly due to the fact that he made attempts back in July of 2013 to trademark the design in the United States, and Disney doesn't want this to happen.
However, deadmau5's legal team stated that the DJ has been using his mouse-ears logo for the past decade around the world without problems, so why is Disney only now making a move.
"The deadmau5 front-facing mau5head is a registered trademark in 30 countries worldwide ... Disney is now opposing the US filing," said deadmau5's lawyer, Dina LaPolt.
"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."
"Our client will not be bullied by Disney and is prepared to fight to protect his rights to his property," she said.
Can Disney come out a victorious in this battle?
It is difficult to tell at this point. From our point of view, deadmau5's mouse-ear has a similar design to the ears of Mickey Mouse, so there is a chance Disney could convince the courts that he stole the design. However, deadmau5 has been using this same design for the past decade and Disney never made a move until now.
We must also point out that Disney doesn't own the trademark of the mouse-ear design, so already the entertainment giant is in a bit of a pickle.
What is the likely outcome?
Chances are, deadmau5 will still get to use the mouse-ear design, but he probably won't be able to trademark it in the United States. On the other hand, it could possibly turn out in favor of Disney since it is the first to come up with such a design, so the courts might very well force deadmau5 to change his.
Deadmau5 poked fun at Frozen.
He said the movie tanked in a rant on Twitter, but while we refuse to believe that, it is quite clear that Frozen is an overrated film with a good soundtrack.
