Hakuna Matata or "no worries" could cause some concerns for Disney

Hakuna Matata is the motto in Swahili language that Disney made its own with the release of "The Lion King" back in 1994. A Kenyan band, Them Mushrooms (also known as Uyoga) is threatening Disney with legal action because of the use of the Hakuna Matata brand. According to the frontman of the band, the famous phrase was already known with their song "Jambo Bwana" he said: “Disney’s first registration, as we’ve come to learn, was in 1994. This is 14 years after we had recorded the song. This song went platinum in the country. This is our national tourism anthem in Kenya” and “We were a bit surprised, you know, because we said, ‘Hey, these guys have taken our phrase, but they changed the tune.'” Them Mushrooms would not be the only ones to sue Disney for the motto, recently a Zimbabwean activist, Shelton Mpala, launched a petition asking Disney to abandon the registration on that mark, accusing the company of cultural appropriation. According to the petition "Hakuna Matata is used by most Swahili speaking countries, such as Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Mozambique, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo", "Disney he must not allow himself to register something he has not invented ".


12/27/2018 | General - Info