Lady Gaga just got hit with a $100 million lawsuit from a surf company that claims she stole its logo for her latest album, “Mayhem.”

Surfboard and lifestyle company Lost International is suing Gaga for trademark infringement. Lost claims it owns the “Mayhem” trademark rights since it sells merch and surfboards showcasing the word.

With the release of Gaga’s new album earlier this month, the singer’s website is stocked with a selection of merchandise, including T-shirts and sweatshirts bearing a “Mayhem” logo that Lost says she’s using in the same style without permission.

Lost Alleges Gaga ‘Misleads’ Public and Fans

Lost International filed the complaint against Gaga, real name Stefani Germanotta, in a California district court on March 25 — about two and a half weeks after “Mayhem” dropped.

According to documents, the surf brand maintains that the pop star’s imagery used to promote her new album is “substantially similar if not nearly identical” to the logo the surf brand trademarked in 2015.

The surf company argued that it has been using the stylized Mayhem mark since 1986 on everything from surfboards and equipment to apparel and accessories and featuring it in surf videos.

  • “Mayhem” is also the nickname of Lost co-founder Matt Biolos.


In the lawsuit, Lost International compared an image of one of its hoodies with the “Mayhem” graphic on the back and a hoodie from the “Die With a Smile” singer’s merch collection to show the similarities.

“Lady Gaga’s actions are likely to mislead the public into concluding that her goods originate with or are authorized by Lost, which will damage both Lost and the public,” the complaint says.

A Lot Of ‘Mayhem’ All Around

The surf company, which wants a jury trial, alleges that it contacted Gaga to ask her to cease using the “Mayhem” logo but didn’t receive a response.

“Lady Gaga’s ‘Mayhem’ soared to No. 1 and shattered records, a testament to her unmatched talent and global impact,” Gaga’s lawyer, Orin Snyder, said in a statement. “It’s disappointing – but hardly surprising – that someone is now attempting to capitalize on her success with a baseless lawsuit over the name ‘Mayhem.’ This is nothing more than an opportunistic and meritless abuse of the legal system.”

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Lost’s lawsuit requests that Gaga be forbidden from using the logo and seeks damages, including profits from using the “Mayhem” mark. “Lost has no control over the quality of goods sold by Lady Gaga and because of the source of confusion caused by Lady Gaga, Lost has lost control over its valuable goodwill,” the company notes in the complaint.

  • Lady Gaga, who released her newest album on March 7, hasn’t responded to the lawsuit yet.
  • “Mayhem” is Gaga’s first full-length studio album since she dropped “Chromatica” in 2020.


Meanwhile, the day after Lost filed its lawsuit, Gaga announced her first arena tour, “The Mayhem Ball,” since 2018. The 32-date tour, which kicks off in Las Vegas on July 16, includes shows in North America, the United Kingdom and Europe.

Promo Perspective

Protecting intellectual property (IP) is a major concern for the promotional products industry, which is fueled by creativity and innovation.

  • Trademarks, copyrights and patents are designed to distinguish one’s products or services from another’s.
  • Those protections enable customers to know what they can expect, ultimately building brand loyalty.


Although the need to protect IP isn’t called into play until someone infringes on it, suppliers, distributors, decorators and business service providers should keep an eye on the market to remain vigilant. For example, suppliers are urged to file a patent application before public disclosure.

“If you wait to file, you may waive your rights or limit the remedies,” said Justin Miller, Esq., a patent attorney with Larson & Larson, at the 2019 PPAI Product Responsibility Summit.

  • In a landmark legal victory for the promo industry in 2018, a federal court jury ruled in favor of ETS Express after the supplier was sued for alleged trademark infringement by Can’t Live Without It, LLC, dba S’well Bottle.


Conversely, you don’t want to infringe upon someone else’s IP when creating or designing products. When accepting an order, distributors should avoid the obvious such as Disney, Star Wars, Marvel characters and the like, as well as famous landmarks, slogans, logos, likenesses of celebrities and photos and art of unknown origin.

RELATED: New Ruling Could Make Design Patents Harder To Obtain

“Fair use laws remain extremely gray, and companies incorporating copyrighted assets into their work should be aware that the case-by-case and context-sensitive evaluation lends itself to much subjective speculation about how a court of law, i.e., a judge or a panel of judges, may apply an objective analysis in determining whether a use of a copyrighted work is fair and thus non-infringing,” wrote Cory Halliburton, an attorney with Freeman Law and general counsel for PPAI, in a 2023 commentary on the Copyright Act’s ‘fair use’ doctrine.