LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Walt Disney Co. on Wednesday sued a Hong Kong jewellery firm it accuses of promoting unlawful Mickey Mouse jewellery.
The worldwide media and leisure conglomerate filed a lawsuit in federal courtroom in Los Angeles in opposition to the Pink Earth Group, which sells jewellery on-line below the identify Satéur.
Disney says the rings, necklaces and earrings in Satéur’s “Mickey 1928 Collection” violate its trademark rights and that the Hong Kong firm is intentionally making an attempt to idiot prospects into considering the items are official Disney merchandise.
Satéur, the swimsuit alleges, “intends to present Mickey Mouse as its own brand identifier for its jewelry merchandise and “seeks to trade on the recognizability of the Mickey Mouse trademarks and consumers’ affinity for Disney and its iconic ambassador Mickey Mouse.”
A message in search of remark from representatives of the Pink Earth Group was not instantly answered.
The lawsuit is indicative of Disney’s dogged efforts to guard its mental property from unauthorized appropriation. Though the earliest model of Mickey Mouse entered the general public area final yr after Disney’s copyright expired, the corporate nonetheless holds trademark rights to the character.
Legal professionals for Disney argue within the swimsuit that Pink Earth’s on-line advertising and marketing efforts “extensively trade on the Mickey Mouse trademarks and the Disney brand” with language that features describing the jewellery as nice for “Disney enthusiasts.”
Such ways point out Pink Earth was “intentionally trying to confuse consumers,” the lawsuit says. The impression created, it says, “suggests, at a minimal, a partnership or collaboration with Disney.”
The earliest depiction of Mickey Mouse, who first appeared publicly within the movie quick “Steamboat Willie” in 1928, are actually within the U.S. public area. The broadly publicized second was thought of a landmark in iconography going public.
The lawsuit alleges that Pink Earth and Satéur are attempting to make use of that standing as a “ruse” to recommend the jewellery is authorized, by dubbing it the “Mickey 1928 Collection” and saying it’s being bought in tribute to the mouse’s first look.
The centerpiece of the gathering, the swimsuit says, is a bit of knickknack marketed because the “Satéur Mickey 1928 Classique Ring,” which has a Steamboat Willie appeal sitting on the band holding an artificial stone.
However there may be an important distinction between copyright — which protects artworks — and trademark — which protects an organization’s model.
Even when a personality is within the public area, it can’t be used on merchandise in a manner that implies it’s from the corporate with the trademark, as Disney alleges Pink Earth is doing.
“Disney remains committed to guarding against unlawful trademark infringement and protecting consumers from confusion caused by unauthorized uses of Mickey Mouse and our other iconic characters,” Disney mentioned in a press release Wednesday.
The lawsuit seeks an injunction in opposition to Pink Earth promoting the jewellery or buying and selling on Disney’s trademark in every other manner, together with financial damages to be decided later.
