Deadmau5 files TM cancellation suit over ‘Meowingtons’
Canadian record producer Joel Zimmerman, known professionally as Deadmau5, has filed a trademark cancellation suit against a cat-themed store in the US.
Deadmau5 filed his suit against Meowingtons at the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) on December 28.
In the suit, the music producer argued that the ‘Meowingtons’ mark was confusingly similar under the Lanham Act, shows a false association under section 2(a) of the Lanham Act and that the mark was obtained fraudulently.
According to the suit, Deadmau5 adopted a black and white cat in 2010 and because of the cat’s “incessant meowing” Deadmau5 named it “Prof Meowingtons, PhD”, or “Meowingtons” for short.
The cat has become widely recognised in its own right on social media.
Deadmau5 adopted the Meowingtons name in 2010 and first used it in commerce “as early” as 2011. The producer also licensed and sold merchandise with the Meowingtons name that same year.
Deadmau5 filed a trademark for the term ‘Prof Meowingtons’ at the USPTO in 2015, covering classes 9, 16, 18 and 21.
In May last year, the USPTO refused the application because of a likelihood of confusion with the ‘Meowingtons’ mark.
In July 2014, the CEO of Meowingtons, Emma Bassiri, filed a trademark at the USPTO for the term ‘Meowingtons’ to accompany her online cat-themed business. It was published in March 2015.
Deadmau5 has asked for the ‘Meowingtons’ mark to be cancelled.
Already registered?
Login to your account
If you don't have a login or your access has expired, you will need to purchase a subscription to gain access to this article, including all our online content.
For more information on individual annual subscriptions for full paid access and corporate subscription options please contact us.
To request a FREE 2-week trial subscription, please signup.
NOTE - this can take up to 48hrs to be approved.
For multi-user price options, or to check if your company has an existing subscription that we can add you to for FREE, please email Adrian Tapping at atapping@newtonmedia.co.uk