It’s Día de Muertos! Remember That Time When Disney Tried to Trademark It?

All publicity is good publicity—until the ghost of bad PR comes a knockin’.  

Earlier this year, Disney tried to argue that by agreeing to the terms and conditions of a Disney+ account, the account holder couldn’t sue them for wrongful death. They quickly backtracked after a huge outcry, but this isn’t the first time Disney has landed themselves in the court of public opinion due to their legal maneuvering. 

Disney’s legal arm is very long, experienced, and generally pretty successful. For example, did you know Disney impacted U.S. copyright law to the point that the 1998 extension is nicknamed the Mickey Mouse Protection Act? Currently, copyright lasts for the life of the author, plus seventy years after the author’s death. If you’ve ever wondered, huh, that seems rather long? Well, Disney, and other companies interested in protecting their IP, had a hand in that. 

Suffice to say, Disney has never been one to shy away from protecting their intellectual property. So with that in mind, you can sort of follow the logic behind the disastrous attempt to trademark “Día de Muertos.” 

“A trademark can be any word, phrase, symbol, design, or a combination of these things that identifies your goods or services. It’s how customers recognize you in the marketplace and distinguish you from your competitors.”

— United States Patent and Trademark Office

A trademark is meant to identify the source of goods or services, provide legal protection for a brand, and help guard against counterfeiting and fraud. And back in 2013, Disney knew they wanted to make a film about the Mexican holiday Día de Muertos, also known as Día de los Muertos and Day of the Dead. So they decided to establish their trademark for the film.  

The idea was to trademark “Día de los Muertos” and any themed merchandise, such as “fruit preserves, fruit-based snacks, toys, games, clothing, footwear, backpacks, clocks and jewelry.”

Unsurprisingly, there was massive backlash. Día de Muertos is a beloved holiday in Mexico and observed throughout Latin America and in the U.S. It’s a time to honor loved ones who have passed and celebrate their memory. Even the suggestion that a U.S. based company would try to trademark such an important part of Mexican culture, inspired some passionate responses. The most memorable of which was political cartoonist Lalo Alcaraz’s take on the the situation, Muerto Mouse. 

Disney appears to have taken all that criticism to heart, as Alcaraz went on to join Pixar as a consultant for their Day of the Dead film. In this case, listening to the backlash resulted in a more authentic story that eventually became Coco. The film was wildly popular, especially in Mexico. Reader, I saw that movie twice in theaters. 

If you’re interested in learning more about Día de los Muertos, like the fact it’s actually two days, please check out this wonderful guide by the National Museum of the American Latino. There are a lot of ways to celebrate Day of the Dead and not a lot ways to get it wrong.

Unless you try to trademark it, of course. 

Seasons Greetings!

“In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer.” - Albert Camus

‘Tis the season to tell all we meet (though those numbers are of course relatively low this year due to Covid) Happy Holidays and Seasons Greetings! But which holidays do we mean? What is the season, exactly? A law librarian by day, your humble blog author is dusting off her Religion degree to present this brief and fun overview.

The Winter Solstice and its general timeframe has been seen across cultures, space, and time as an excellent moment to mark the birth or rebirth of God or the gods. In our American society, Christmas is the most obvious and omnipresent modern example. However, particularly here in Houston, the United States’ 7th most diverse city, a wide variety of celebrations take place.

Our readers may be most familiar with Hanukkah, the Jewish festival of lights. The holiday spans eight days and nights, and commemorates the rededication of the Second Temple when Jerusalem was retaken during the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Empire circa 160 BCE. Prior to that time, Judaism had been made illegal, and the Temple had been defiled. It appeared there was not enough purified oil to burn in order to properly cleanse the space, but miraculously the small amount found lasted for 8 days of continuous burning. This year, it lasts from December 10th through 18th.

Hindus celebrate Pancha Ganapati, a family festival of giving that spans five days and centers on Lord Ganesha, the god of new beginnings and deva of wisdom. Each day is marked by its own color and discipline, as adherents spend the five days exchanging gifts; presenting offerings for Ganesha’s five-faced form Lord Panchamukha; and nurturing five realms of their lives: family, friends, associates, culture and religion. The festival runs from December 21 through 25.

In Iran and adjacent territories, the very old holiday of Yaldā Night is still observed, albeit in a much more casual and contemporary manner than in ancient times. Extended family units gather to share specific foods, engage in general revelry, and stay up past midnight as a nod to an old Zoroastrian belief that one must stay awake and vigilant against evil spirits on the longest night of the year. Iran does not follow the Gregorian Calendar, but the holiday generally correlates to December 20 or 21st.

Many Buddhists celebrate Bodhi Day, which marks the day Siddhartha came to enlightenment after several days of meditation beneath a bodhi tree. Reflecting the many differences among Buddhist sects around the world, this holiday goes by multiple names, and is celebrated or acknowledged in quite a wide variety of ways on different winter days, though frequently in December.

Whatever you celebrate or observe this winter holiday season, we hope it brings you happiness, and a sense of connectedness in these unusual times. Stay warm!