On May 1,
Disney filed an application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark
Office to protect the phrase "Día de los Muertos," or "Day of the
Dead," across multiple platforms.
Disney subsidiary Pixar is apparently releasing a
film -- with the working title "The Untitled Pixar Movie About Dia de los
Muertos" -- this fall.
Here's
the issue -- Día de los Muertos is a traditional holiday celebrated on
November 1 and 2 in Mexico and across Latin America.
People honor the lives of
lost family members or friends by building altars,
holding processions, decorating gravesites and placing
offerings for loved ones.
Based on its trademark application, Disney
hoped to secure the rights to the title "Day of the Dead" and such
themed merchandise as fruit preserves, fruit-based snacks, toys, games,
clothing, footwear, backpacks, clocks and jewelry.
But the
Latino community has raised serious questions about the application on social media.
On
Tuesday, a petition was started on Change.org to stop the Disney effort, stating that
the attempt to trademark Día de los Muertos was "cultural appropriation
and exploitation at its worst." As of today, the petition has over 21,000 signatures.
In 2003,
the Day of the Dead celebration was entered on the UNESCO list of the
Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.
"The
Indigenous Festivity dedicated to the Dead are deeply rooted in the cultural
life of the indigenous peoples of Mexico," UNESCO has said.
But after
the backlash, Disney withdrew
its application this week.
"The
trademark [was] intended to protect any potential title of the movie or related
activity," a spokeswoman for Disney said. "Since then, it has been determined that the title
of the film will change, and therefore we are withdrawing our application for
trademark registration."
Disney
did not comment on whether social media reactions directly led to the decision
to withdraw the application. This
isn't the first time Disney has sought to trademark a controversial phrase.
In 2011,
it tried to secure "SEAL Team Six," the Navy SEAL team that captured
and killed Osama bin Laden, seeking exclusive rights for use on items from
video games to backpacks. However, after receiving an overwhelming response
from critics, Disney withdrew the application "out of deference to the
Navy."
