Confusion
Lost’s objection isn’t so much about the album itself, but rather about the entire tour surrounding it, including all the merchandise, especially clothing. According to Lost, the public could be confused and think the surf company is somehow affiliated with Lady Gaga’s tour.
Logos
Another issue raised by Lost is that the logos of the two Mayhems are quite similar. And that’s indeed striking: both Gaga and Lost use a jagged, “horror-style” font for the word Mayhem.
Gold digger?
Lady Gaga’s lawyer sees it differently. He believes this is a case of opportunism. “Lady Gaga’s Mayhem rose to number one and broke records, a testament to her unparalleled talent and global impact. It is disappointing, but not surprising, that someone is now trying to capitalise on her success with an unfounded lawsuit regarding the Mayhem name,” the lawyer told People magazine. Well, that’s one way to look at it. The main legal defense is that Lost doesn’t have a leg to stand on because the name Mayhem is supposedly too generic to be legally protected.
Some nerves?
Still, if I were Stefani Germanotta – Lady Gaga’s real name – I’d be a bit nervous. The artist appears to be using the brand name on a wide range of clothing, and the logo resemblance is quite striking. Moreover, why wouldn’t someone be able to hold trademark rights to a name like Mayhem, which means something like “chaos” or “confusion” in English? I don’t quite see why that would be considered too generic for clothing branding.
Just a guess
If I had to guess: I don’t think Gaga has a very strong case, and the surf guys are probably open to a decent payout. Want to bet this battle ends early with a financial settlement? We’ll see.
Bas Kist
Banner image: marcen27 from Glasgow, UKUploaded by C.Jonel, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
_01.jpg){kind=link}