Tomorrowland goes after Disney, forces the media giant to change movie title

Disney is getting a taste of its own medicine.

The history of bad blood between ID&T and Disney can be traced back to the festival promoter’s initial expansion to the US. When ID&T first announced that it would be bringing Tomorrowland stateside, Disney forced the festival to ditch its branding and re-name the event. Thus TomorrowWorld was born.

Now the tables have turned. An upcoming Disney film by the same name — starring George Clooney and Hugh Laurie — is now being attacked by the festival promoter for its overseas release. Ironically enough, ID&T just so happens to hold the trademark rights to Tomorrowland in the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Belgium — where the event launched in 2005.

Trademark attorney Sharon Daboul told the Belfast Telegraph:

“Disney has a trademark registration in the USA for the term Tomorrowland, dating back to 1970. With this registration, it was successfully able to prevent the music festival from calling itself Tomorrowland when it launched in the USA. However, the music festival has the rights to the term in Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg and has prevented Disney from using the name in these countries.”

Not to be bullied by the media giant, ID&T is now blocking Disney from using the name Tomorrowland when releasing the film overseas. Classic.

The movie, Tomorrowland: A World Beyond, will be released in the UK on May 22. Its name in Belgium, The Netherlands and Luxembourg has yet to be determined.

Via: Belfast Telegraph

View photos from last year’s Tomorrowland.

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