Trademark row: Deadmau5 goes ear-to-ear with Disney over iconic logo

House music DJ deadmau5 has told Disney to “lawyer up” after a dispute over his mouse-ears logo and the world-famous Mickey trademark. The Canadian electro-music producer, whose real name is Joel Thomas Zimmerman, has vowed not to be “bullied” after Disney filed a 171-page legal document opposing his application to trademark his own logo in the United States. He told his nearly 3 million Twitter followers: “Disney thinks you might confuse an established electronic musician/performer with a cartoon mouse. That’s how stupid they think you are.”

Landed home to some interesting news: looks like Disney officially just filed in opposition of my trademark… lawyer up mickey.

Joel Thomas Zimmerman tweet

Dina LaPolt, the 33-year-old’s lawyer, said the timing of the corporation’s opposition rings strange, after Zimmerman filed to register it with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in June 2013. “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.” Disney has not commented on the trademark spat.

Business deadmau5