Joel Thomas Zimmerman, better known as Canadian DJ Deadmau5, is being blocked from registering his well-recognized mousehead gear as a trademark in the United States, by Disney, who claims that the moushead symbol is “nearly identical in appearance” to their “iconic” Mickey Mouse ears.
Disney’s opposition attempts have of course, incensed the outspoken DJ, resulting in a twitter-fueled castigation of the corporate “bullying,” to quote Zimmerman’s lawyer, Dina LaPolt. Zimmerman sarcastically advised Disney to “lawyer up” and then directly drew the battle lines, noting: “sorry, im no little bitch whos going to fold under a money hungry corperation overt some bullshit. you do your thing tho. k?” He also portrayed the opposition as not just insulting to him, but to all whom Disney purports, would be “confused, mistaken or deceived” by Zimmerman’s mousehead gear. The DJ decried the patronization of such claims, tweeting: “Disney thinks you might confuse an established electronic musician / performer with a cartoon mouse. That’s how stupid they think you are.”
The baselessness of Disney’s claims, according to Zimmerman’s legal team, are highlighted by the fact that his logo has been recognizable to the public for the past decade and is already registered in 30 countries. His team questions why Disney took so long to block his legal efforts in the United States. One might argue that he has a point, given that Disney’s anxiety about the confusion between their classic Mickey Mouse symbol and the mau5head has not prompted them to issue a Cease & Desist suit, but only to block his efforts to trademark the mau5head symbol. The DJ laughingly remarked in a 2012 Rolling Stones interview that Disney has taken too long to express their objections, stating in his usual snarky manner that “someone at the Disney patent office fell asleep on that one.”
By continuing to defy their legal opposition, Zimmerman intends to show them just how late in the game they are in their attempts to block his trademarking ambitions, while portraying himself as a valiant defender of his unique musical identity against the attempts of a large corporation to stifle him.
Whether or not Zimmerman wins in the court of public opinion is another matter. No doubt his fans are in full support of his efforts to oppose the legal blockage of a mammoth corporation. But like any popular public figure, Zimmerman has his “haters” who are cheering on Disney and who believe that Zimmerman is simply looking for more attention by engaging in a futile legal battle with the likes of Disney.
