Deadmau5 takes the Mickey

On 18 August, Deadmau5’s company sought to register the design.

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On 2 September Disney filed a 171 page patent and trade mark objection in response to the application. Shortly after Deadmau5 tweeted “Lawyer up Mickey”. Given the fact that ‘The Mau5 Head’ has been used around the US for around a decade uninterrupted, there is little chance of confusion.Â

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Deadmau5 was much less polite: “Disney thinks you might confuse an established electronic musician/performer with a cartoon mouse,” he tweeted. “That’s how stupid they think you are.”

Deadma5 has already has his trademark registered in over 30 countries around the world, yet it is only the USA that any opposition has occurred.

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In other news, Ferrari has sent Deadmau5 a cease and desist letter ordering the de-customisation of his ‘Purrari’. The musician has changed the license plate to ‘Purrari’ and has changed the famous prancing pony to a prancing cat.Â

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Although an American case, this sort of thing has never occurred in the UK. A vehicle wrap in this country is perfectly legal. It is considered that once you have bought a car, then you can customise it as you see fit. Due to the profile of the owner then it might send the wrong publicity for Ferrari and give more publicity to Deadmau5 for his unusual creation.Â