File this under “Things You Don’t Expect on a Monday Morning”: Lady Gaga is being sued over the word Mayhem. Yes, that Gaga. And yes, Mayhem.
Turns out, there’s a California-based surf company called Lost Surfboards (shoutout to the 90s punk aesthetic) that’s been using the word Mayhem since the 80s. Like, legally. Trademark and all. Their founder, Matt Biolos, also goes by the nickname “Mayhem,” which sounds like a killer surfer name but apparently now also comes with a killer lawsuit.
Lady Gaga, in true Gaga fashion, recently launched her new album titled Mayhem and kicked off a stadium tour called The Mayhem Ball. Very dramatic, very Gaga. The problem? According to Lost Surfboards, her tour branding bears more than a little resemblance to their longtime logo. And they are not amused.
The result? A $100 million lawsuit aimed at stopping Gaga from using “Mayhem” on merchandise, posters, probably t-shirts, and who knows—maybe beach towels too. Gaga’s legal team, unsurprisingly, called the lawsuit “baseless.” Which is the polite lawyer version of “seriously?”
Will this turn into a trademark showdown worthy of its own Netflix docuseries? Probably not. But it’s a good reminder that even pop icons can run into branding trouble when decades-old trademarks are involved.
So next time you’re brainstorming a product name, maybe double-check that it’s not already on a surfer’s board somewhere in Southern California 🏄♂️