By Andrew Dalton
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Walt Disney sued a Hong Kong jewelry company on Wednesday, accusing them of selling illegal Mickey Mouse jewelry.
International Media and Entertainment Conglomerates filed a lawsuit against Red Earth Group in federal court in Los Angeles. Red Earth Group sells jewelry online under the name Sateur.
Disney says that Satéur’s “Mickey 1928 Collection” rings, necklaces and earrings are infringing its trademark rights and that Hong Kong companies are intentionally trying to trick customers into thinking the work is an official Disney product.
Suit “will intend to present Mickey Mouse as the unique brand identifier for jewelry items and “try to trade in the recognition of Mickey Mouse trademark and consumer affinity and its iconic ambassador Mickey Mouse.”
Messages from representatives of Red Earth Group were not immediately answered.
The lawsuit illustrates Disney’s efforts to protect intellectual property from unauthorized spending. The oldest version of Mickey Mouse entered the public domain last year after Disney’s copyright expired, but the company still retains trademark rights for the characters.
Disney’s lawyers argue that Red Earth’s online marketing efforts “have extensively traded Mickey Mouse trademarks and Disney brands and described the best jewelry for Disney enthusiasts.”
Such tactics indicate that the Red Earth is “deliberately trying to disrupt consumers,” the lawsuit states. The impression states that “at least it suggests a partnership or collaboration with Disney.”
The earliest portrayal of Mickey Mouse, first released in 1928 in the film “Steamboat Willie,” is now in the public domain of the United States. The moments that were widely publicized were considered iconographic landmarks.
The lawsuit alleges that Red Earth and Satteu states dubbed the “Mickey 1928 Collection” and are trying to use that status as a “scheming” to suggest that the jewelry is legal.
The heart of the collection is jewelry sold as the “Sateur Mickey 1928 Classic Ring” with a band carrying synthetic stones on the steamboat Willy Charm.
However, there is an essential difference between copyrights that protect a company’s brand and copyrights that protect a trademark.
Even if the character is in the public domain, it cannot be used on the product in a way that suggests it is from a company that holds the trademark, as Disney claims it is doing.
“Disney is committed to protecting consumers and protecting consumers from the confusion caused by the misuse of Mickey Mouse and other iconic characters,” Disney said in a statement Wednesday.
The lawsuit seeks an injunction against Red Earth, which otherwise sells jewelry and transactions under Disney trademarks, and a financial damage that will be decided later.
Original issue: July 16th, 2025, 5:15pm EDT
