Deadmau5, the famous mouse-headed DJ and producer is currently in a legal battle over his cat’s name “Professor Meowingtons”. This follows up his 2014 legal battle with a mouse named Mickey, when Disney didn’t like him using a mouse head for his logo.
In this new case, Deadmau5 (real name Joel Zimmerman) is on the offensive because of meowingtons.com, which sells cat-themed gifts, accessories, and clothing. Deadmau5 claims meowingtons.com founder Emma Bassri was a longtime fan of his and chose the name of his cat to cash in on his celeb status. This being the celeb status of the cat, not the mouse, with Prof. Meowington having 12,700 Instagram followers and many appearances on Deadmau5’s Instagram (with 2.1 million followers).
Bassri has counter-sued Deadmau5, saying she came up with the name and trademark years ago and that claiming she is a fan of his is damaging to her reputation and business. Deadmau5 then replied that he’s going to “litigate this woman out of existence”. This legal game of cat and mouse is ongoing and we’ll be sure to report back on who wins.