You'd think it'd be all fun and games in the world of cartoon mice, but such is not the case in the epic battle between rodent rivals Mickey Mouse and deadmau5 (a.k.a. Joel Zimmerman). The latter tried to trademark his mouse-head logo earlier this week in the U.S. and met with legal action from Disney. Displaying some serious confidence, he's now opted to take on one of the entertainment world's biggest corporations, responding to Disney by serving them with a cease and desist.
Hardly unfounded, Zimmerman's cease and desist stems from a Mickey Mouse "Re-Micks," which pairs footage from vintage Disney cartoons with the artist's song "Ghosts 'n' Stuff." The use of the track is so intentional that the short, too, is called "Ghosts 'n' Stuff."
The only trouble is that Zimmerman claims he never gave Disney permission to use the song. As such, he's sent out a cease and desist.
After sending out the notice, he posted the full details to Twitter. Describing it as "complete pwnage," he posted the whole thing.
UPDATE: Disney has responded to deadmau5's complaint, telling Rolling Stone: "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. Our opposition is not about the use of the Deadmau5 costume. The music was appropriately licensed, and there is no merit to his statement."
Check out the string of tweets below, along with the "Ghosts 'n' Stuff" video.
Hardly unfounded, Zimmerman's cease and desist stems from a Mickey Mouse "Re-Micks," which pairs footage from vintage Disney cartoons with the artist's song "Ghosts 'n' Stuff." The use of the track is so intentional that the short, too, is called "Ghosts 'n' Stuff."
The only trouble is that Zimmerman claims he never gave Disney permission to use the song. As such, he's sent out a cease and desist.
After sending out the notice, he posted the full details to Twitter. Describing it as "complete pwnage," he posted the whole thing.
UPDATE: Disney has responded to deadmau5's complaint, telling Rolling Stone: "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. Our opposition is not about the use of the Deadmau5 costume. The music was appropriately licensed, and there is no merit to his statement."
Check out the string of tweets below, along with the "Ghosts 'n' Stuff" video.
anyone wanna see some complete pwnage?
— deadmau5 (@deadmau5) September 4, 2014okay mouse, http://t.co/zT7tTLffFw i never gave disney a liscene to use my track. So. we emailed you a C&D. @disney
— deadmau5 (@deadmau5) September 4, 2014So now, @disney is illegally using my work... and CONFUSING people that id actualyly work with these twats.
— deadmau5 (@deadmau5) September 4, 2014oh, @disney just in case you dont check your email, ill just leave this here. pic.twitter.com/I9ZSHsKlWV
— deadmau5 (@deadmau5) September 4, 2014... @disney sorry heres the second page! Have a magical fucking day! pic.twitter.com/fGQf6jMOAc
— deadmau5 (@deadmau5) September 4, 2014lets test a theory, it takes em 10 years to oppose a trademark, lets see how long it takes em to take down a video.
— deadmau5 (@deadmau5) September 4, 2014can i has trademark now? thnks.
— deadmau5 (@deadmau5) September 4, 2014I wish disney wasnt such a "corperation". We could have done great things together.
— deadmau5 (@deadmau5) September 4, 2014