Don't mess with the mouse. Disney and Deadmau5 are in a battle for the trademark, and it seems as though the family-friendly media giant will not be backing down. Following a tense week or so for the two entertainment entities over a dispute regarding Deadmau5 attempting to trademark his mouse head logo in the United States and a reported unofficially licensed Deadmau5 track on Disney's website, the company of Mickey Mouse is stating that they will continue to fight for their trademark.
Previously, Disney filed a notice of opposition to Deadmau5 (a.k.a. Joel Thomas Zimmerman), who is attempting to trademark his mouse head in the U.S., leading Deadmau5 to issue a cease-and-desist for an unofficial Deadmau5 remix entitled "Ghosts 'n' Stuff Re-Micks," which he did not approve of.
But now the mouse is firing back. In a statement to Billboard, Disney noted that they did have permission to use "Ghosts 'n' Stuff" and that they are only looking to protect their own trademark in the U.S., citing that Deadmau5's own mouse head is too similar to their signature three-circle Mickey Mouse logo.
"The music was appropriately licensed, and there is no merit to his statement. Disney vigorously protects its trademark rights, and we oppose Mr. Zimmerman's attempt to register a logo that is nearly identical to our trademarks for his commercial exploitation," a representative for Disney said in a statement. "Our opposition is not about the use of the Deadmau5 costume."
They also claim to have been looking into Deadmau5's trademark for six months.
Meanwhile, Deadmau5 continues to fire back at Disney on Twitter. On Sept. 4, the EDM star tweeted that he thought the company had a few unmentioned motivations, like getting into the electronic music genre themselves...
