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.”
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.