Lady Gaga’s newest album may tout her as the “Perfect Celebrity,” but the associated merchandise has stirred up legal “Mayhem” with California-based surf brand Lost International.
The singer-songwriter released her latest effort, “Mayhem,” earlier this month, marking her seventh No. 1 album and the highest first-week total sales for a female artist in 2025, per Billboard. But despite its success on the charts, “Mayhem” has also made a splash in a different world: the legal one.
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California-based surf brand Lost alleges that the designs and merch associated with Gaga’s “Mayhem” launch infringe on a trademark it has owned since 2015, which it prints on some of its apparel, accessories and surfboards.
The lawsuit, filed last week, alleges that Gaga has caused the brand “grave and irreparable damages” because of her “blatant disregard…of Lost’s rights to the mark ‘Mayhem.’”
The company alleges that the “Mayhem” logo on Gaga’s merchandise collection for the album “is substantially similar if not nearly identical to the [Mayhem] Mark on Lost’s merchandise.
According to the brand, Gaga did not seek permission for use of the Mayhem mark prior to releasing her album, launching a tour with the same name or creating and selling merch with the logos in question. Lost further states in the complaint that it has informed Gaga of the purported infringement.
“Lost has requested in writing that Lady Gaga cease and desist from [her] infringing actions, but Lady Gaga has failed to comply with them,” the brand alleges.
Lost contends that its Mayhem trademark is one “the consuming public recognizes” and that the goods Gaga has sold compete with the items Lost sells bearing a similar graphic. Because of that confusion, the brand alleges, “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,” in part because Lost cannot control the quality of the goods Gaga sells, which it states effectively means it has “lost control over its valuable goodwill.”
Lost has brought claims of trademark infringement, trademark dilution and false advertising, among others, against Gaga in its complaint. It has requested that the court grant temporary, preliminary and permanent injunctions to prevent Gaga and her team from using Lost’s trademark, selling any merchandise that would infringe on the mark and more.
The company is also seeking at least $100 million in damages.
Keith Bremer, counsel for Lost, said the brand chose to take the battle to court to preserve its intellectual property rights.
“Lost/Mayhem is very upset that their 40 years of hard work building a solid brand, well recognized in the surf culture…has been diluted and taken by a reputable pop star. As a result of these issues, there is now brand confusion and irreparable harm to our soft goods, surf and skate branding. The complaint was filed to address these issues and their valid trademark,” Bremer told Sourcing Journal via email.
Lost/Mayhem is very upset that their 40 years of hard work building a solid brand, well recognized in the surf culture, a two time US gold medal winner, has been diluted and taken by a reputable pop star. As a result of these issues – their is now brand confusion and irreparable hard to our soft goods, surf and skate branding. The complaint was filed to address these issues and their valid trademark.
Counsel for Gaga did not immediately returned Sourcing Journal’s request for comment, but Orin Snyder, Gaga’s attorney reportedly told Rolling Stone that he feels the complaint is a play to turn a profit off her art.
“Lady Gaga’s ‘Mayhem’ soared to No. 1 and shattered records, a testament to her unmatched talent and global impact. 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,” Snyder told Rolling Stone.
