Walt Disney has dropped its bid to trademark “Dia de los Muertos” following a public outcry characterizing the company’s move as culturally insensitive.

The company filed 10 applications with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for “Dia de los Muertos,” including applications pertaining to toys, cereals and jewelry. The May 1 filings came in anticipation of an untitled movie about the Latin American holiday, known in English as Day of the Dead.

“As we have previously announced, Disney-Pixar is developing an animated feature inspired by the Mexican holiday Dia de los Muertos,” a studio spokesperson said in a statement. “Disney’s trademark filing was intended to protect any potential title for our film and related activities. It has since been determined that the title of the film will change and therefore we are withdrawing our trademark filing.”

Those observing the centuries-old holiday, with roots in indigenous Aztec culture, honor the dead by building altars, decorating graves and holding processions. Day of the Dead, traditionally celebrated in early November — often the day after Halloween — is observed in Mexico and other parts of Latin America, as well as in Europe and the United States.

“This is a case of bad judgment, where the legal strategy clouded common sense,” said Christopher V. Carani, partner at the Chicago intellectual property firm McAndrews, Held & Malloy.

A petition to stop Disney from trademarking “Dia de los Muertos” went up on the website Change.org Tuesday, a day after the website Stitch Kingdom reported the filings. The petition closed Wednesday with 21,277 signatures.

“Our spiritual traditions are for everyone, not for companies like Walt Disney to trademark and exploit,” wrote Grace Sesma, the petition’s creator. “I am deeply offended and dismayed that a family-oriented company like Walt Disney would seek to own the rights to something that is the rightful heritage of the people of Mexico.”

“This is a sacred tradition. It’s not for sale,” wrote Consuelo Alba of Watsonville.

The trademark application was “odd” to Evonne Gallardo, executive director of the Los Angeles art center Self Help Graphics. The center puts on one of the largest Day of the Dead celebrations in Los Angeles, an event Disney has sponsored.

“The right thing to do is not to attempt to trademark a cultural and spiritual celebration,” Gallardo said. “I have yet to see a trademark on Christmas or Hanukkah.”

In fact, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has 558 records for trademarks with the word “Christmas” in it, for such products as “Merry Christmas Honey!,” “Christmas Whiskey” and even “Fleece Navidad.”

And Disney isn’t the first group to try to trademark “Dia de los Muertos.” The Valence Group, based in Houston, in 2007 applied for and received a trademark for “Dia de los Muertos” for “entertainment services, namely, the continuing production and exhibition of live theater production, stage plays and musical shows.”

It’s also not the first time Disney has drawn criticism for a trademark application. In 2011 it withdrew its application to trademark “Seal Team 6,” the name of the military unit that tracked and killed Osama bin Laden. Less than a week after the Navy SEALs team’s successful mission, Disney applied for a patent with plans to produce toys and entertainment.

After the Navy filed its own trademark claim, Disney withdrew its application.

The Disney-Pixar movie has been listed on some film websites as “Untitled Dia De Los Muertos Project.”

“Day of the Dead” is already the title of several films — including horror director George Romero’s 1985 “Night of the Living Dead” sequel and a 2008 film about flesh-eating demons. “Dia De Los Muertos” has also been used by a variety of film and TV projects.