Heritage and culture are some of the deepest rooted aspects in society and individuals thats hard to completely erase.They are a symbol of unique identity and thats why people will fight had if ownership is jeopardized.
A phrase that has enriched Kenya’s culture for decades as part of greetings, Hakuna Matata, is now a legal property of American company, the Walt Disney Company.
This is after the company filed a federal trademark registration for ‘hakuna matata’ under the serial number of 74558335 and was granted the trademark vide registration number 27006605 for use on clothing.
This means that the phrase cannot be used by any other organisation without written permission from Disney.
Well Disney has trade marked the phrase Hakuna Matata
Angry citizens have started a movement that seeks to see Disney retreat its steps
The petition says,”Join us and say NO to DISNEY or any corporations/individuals looking to trademark languages, terms or phrases they didn’t invent”.
Larry Madowo has taken to twitter to reveal the petition asking Disney to Drop the Hakuna Matata trademark now has nearly 30,000 signatures.
A petition asking Disney to drop the Hakuna Matata trademark now has nearly 30,000 signatures. It was started by a Zimbabwean-Canadian activist Shelton Mpala https://t.co/fexTkfKF1B
— Larry Madowo (@LarryMadowo) December 17, 2018
“Hakuna matata” is a Swahili language phrase from East Africa; translate, it means “no trouble”. The word “hakuna” means “there is not here” while “matata” means “problems”.
The Walt Disney Company first filed to trademark the famous Swahili phrase “Hakuna Matata” which means “No problems” on August 8, 1994.
Disney first used the words in the animated film Lion King when Timon and Pumba sang a song with the phrase in it.
The popular phrase especially in East and Central Africa was first popularized in 1982 by a Kenyan band ‘Them Mushrooms’ in the pop song “Jambo Bwana”.
The Disney trademark has attracted attention over the past few weeks in African media. In November, a Kenyan writer named Cathy Mputhia wrote an op-ed in Business Daily, a Kenyan newspaper, calling for East Africans to protect their heritage, culture and identity from exploitation by outside forces. She cited the trademark as an example.
Do you think the petition will succeed in denying Disney ownership of the phrase?