Trademark Trouble: Disney-Pixar and Dia de los Muertos
Disney-Pixar recently attempted to trademark the phrase “Dia de los Muertos” for an upcoming film it is creating that centers on the Mexican holiday of the same name. For now, it seems that the corporation will not succeed in its efforts. It has officially withdrawn its application and plans are under way to come up with a title for the new film that doesn’t include the name of the holiday. Whether this decision came as a result of social media attacks or was independently determined to be the best plan of action is under dispute.
The one thing that is certain is that responses to the attempt to “trademark the holiday” were overwhelmingly negative. For example, a LA-based cartoonist named Lalo Alcaraz created an image of a skeletal Mickey Mouse attacking a city with the text “It’s coming to trademark your cultura.” In addition an article from FoxNews Latino includes quite a few memorable and damaging quotes. For instance, Andrea Quijada states that Disney “is a corporation that has consistently co-opted culture for profit….Just look at Pocahontas, Mulan, Jasmine.”
Despite the backlash of the filing, some do point out that trademarking “Dia de los Muertos” is not the same thing as owning the rights to the entire holiday. An article in Time Entertainment by Lily Rothman notes that the trademark would only apply to products and services that relate exclusively to the Pixar film. Titles of books and movies in the United States are not subject to copyright, so trademarking a title is the only protection available to corporations like Disney-Pixar.
We will just have to wait and see what Disney-Pixar comes up with for its final title and hope that both the corporation and those who celebrate the holiday are happy with the result.
Photo by groovehouse
