For almost 40 years, the San Clemente-based surf brand Mayhem, founded by Matt Biolos, has been a symbol of local counterculture. Stickers bearing the brand’s distinctive logo can be seen all over Orange County, California. Biolos and business partner Mike Reola are now suing pop sensation Lady Gaga (Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta) over the logo for her latest album, “Mayhem,” which bears an uncanny resemblance to theirs.
On March 25 the pair’s company, Lost International LLC, filed a lawsuit with the U.S. District Court, in the Central District of California. They allege trademark infringement and demand that Gaga stop using their logo for her album and upcoming world tour.
While some could argue that “no publicity is bad publicity,” there is such a thing as brand confusion and dilution. Biolos points out that having one of the world’s biggest singers using a familiar name will tarnish the brand’s counter-culture reputation.
“Our brand is a stand-alone brand, it represents something: core surfing,” says Biolos. “People want to wear it to show they are part of this culture of surfing and snowboarding. After a 50-stop tour, and a million articles of clothing sold, it dilutes our message.”
Gaga’s “Mayhem”
Gaga’s album hit shelves on March 7, along with her announcing a world tour and selling merchandise to promote it.
“Lady Gaga’s Mayhem soared to No. 1 and shattered records, a testament to her unmatched talent and global impact,” said Orin Snyder, Gaga’s lawyer in a statement. “It’s disappointing — but hardly surprising — that someone is now attempting to capitalize on her success with a baseless lawsuit over the name Mayhem.”
However, Biolos claims they attempted to settle the matter privately with Gaga’s legal team. “It’s a black-and-white legitimate problem,” Biolos explains. “We reached out going, ‘Do you even realize what you’re doing here?’ We wanted to talk amicably, to figure out how we could quietly make it go away. We had to write an injunction. We had to go the legal route. We had to defend our trademark. This is my life.”
“We want her to stop selling clothing, accessories or anything that falls under our categories. We want her to not do it,” he said. “Her big problem is, she has an album and tour called Mayhem. It’s a problem she’s got herself into.”
Evidence Backing The Claims
Given that Biolos has been drawing the logo since he was in high school in 1987 when he founded the company, prior use should be easy to establish. According to the lawsuit, it has been trademarked since 2015, giving the claim even more legal backing.
The lawsuit also states that it’s not just Gaga’s use of the word Mayhem. The logo itself is “substantially similar if not nearly identical” to the surf company.
“It looks exactly like ours,” says Biolos. “I can’t stop her from naming her album Mayhem. When she uses lettering like our lettering, it’s a gray area. This is a bite on us. The real issue is her selling clothing with our trademark brand name. If she wanted to name her album ‘Guess,’ and made T-shirts with the word ‘Guess’ for that album, I can tell you right now, that company is going to stop her no matter how she writes that word ‘Guess’ across a T-shirt. The same can go for a myriad of other brands.”
The company is seeking $100 million in damages, though the owner maintains that figure is added by his legal team for shock value. He claims to have no interest in Gaga’s money and just wants to protect his brand’s reputation.
We’ll keep you posted on updates about the Mayhem lawsuit as the situation develops.
