After discovering that Disney sicced lawyers on him for trademark infringement over his mouse head logo, Deadmau5 is returning the favour with a cease-and-desist letter against the entertainment giant.
As reported by Exclaim, Deadmau5 explained the situation in a series of tweets Thursday evening. They ran as follows:
The Disney link contains a 90-second video showing short clips from various Disney films with the following caption: "Enjoy a spooky cartoon Re-Micks to the tune of Deadmau5's Ghosts 'n' Stuff." Deadmau5 says he never gave Disney permission to use his music for the video:
The two-page letter dated Sept. 4 and addressed to Disney Interactive details Deadmau5's position.
"It has recently come to our attention that Disney Interactive ("Disney") has uploaded a cartoon video featuring its Mickey Mouse character entitled 'Ghosts 'n' Stuff -- Re-Micks' (the 'Infringing Video') located at http://video.disney.com/watch/ghosts-n-stuff-re-micks-4cc34ca4636bec7bd7bd38a3 (the 'Infringing Page') has been infringing Zimmerman's copyright," a portion of the letter reads.
"Zimmerman is unaware of any license(s) between Disney and EMI, Virgin and/or Ultra granting Disney the right to synchronize the Composition with the Infringing Video or to exploit the Master in any manner or media." The letter also states Disney is using Deadmau5 trademarks without permission.
The letter goes on to demand "Disney remove or disable access to the materials indicated above and contact the undersigned regarding this matter with two (2) business days of receipt of this letter." If Disney doesn't comply "our client will be forced to pursue any and all legal or equitable remedies which our client may have against you."
Deadmau5 then added a few additional tweets regarding the situation:
The musician later tweeted another reason why Disney might have looked into legal proceedings against Deadmau5 regarding the logo, citing a remix album entitled "Dconstructed" issued by Walt Disney Records earlier this year. The album featured songs by Elton John and Daft Punk among others and included remixes by AVICII, U.N.K.L.E. and Armin Van Buuren among others.
And when a few people criticized Deadmau5 for previous tweets, the musician wasted little time in replying:
Disney hasn't commented or issued a statement on Deadmau5's cease and desist letter.
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