http://tropiganda.com/2011/05/disney-to-buy-out-deadmau5/
Created by Toronto-native Joel Zimmerman, Deadmau5 skyrocketed to fame in the mid ’00s by producing hit after hit of ‘minimal house’ music and then playing said music at rave parties around the world wearing a motorcycle helmet stylized as a dead mouse head. Disney is now set to purchase the Deadmau5 persona from its inventor, though rumors that Zimmerman is no longer Deadmau5 have been circulating online since as early as March 2010.
In 2009, the Magic Kingdom-based corporation sued Deadmau5 in federal court, allegedly, for nine counts of trademark infringement, three counts of copyright violation, and one count of public defamation over the Deadmau5 brand and its unflattering portrayal of a dead mouse. Disney’s suit claimed that the Deadmau5 persona “too closely resembles the iconic Mickey Mouse logo,” which was trademarked in 1924, and which has been protected ever since by an battalion of lawyers loyal to the Magic Kingdom and its cartoon king.
Joel Zimmerman has only been seen in public without his helmet twice since February 19th, 2010, although he has allegedly performed as Deadmau5 over 90 times since then. Online rumors have fueled speculation about the state of Zimmerman’s mental health, though none suspected that he would ever allow his brand to be acquired by anyone, let alone the company that nearly destroyed it.
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