Shelby Trust which owns Shelby trademark has won a court that allows any builder to create a Mustangs that resemble the Eleanor from 2000’s hit movie “Gone in 60 Seconds,” (starring Nicolas Cage and Angelina Jolie) and also the yellow one from the original 1974 movie.
For years those designs were defended under copyright protection by Denise Halicki who is the wife of Henry Blight “Toby” Halicki – he made the original “Gone in 60 Seconds” movie. She won the rights back in 2008 against Shelby after the trust a few years prior started licensing the 2000 design to replica builders.
Halicki had licensing deals with replica builders in the past, but not with Shelby. Take Classic Recreations as an example – you could get a $300K carbon-fiber bodied version of Eleanor or a “simple” one for $200K from Brand New Muscle Car. The car in the movie was based on a 1967 Ford Shelby GT500.
The U.S. District Court for the Central District of California ruled that both Eleanor Mustang designs were not deserving of copyright protection, on the basis the designs weren’t representative of a character that could be considered intellectual property.
Neil Cummings, a co-trustee of the Shelby Trust who oversaw the legal process, said in a statement:
“We can finally tell all our important licensees and Shelby GT500 owners that Mrs. Halicki has absolutely no right to complain about or file a lawsuit based upon the looks of any car licensed by the Shelby Trust… The true value of all Shelby GT500s is now secure with this news.”
Photo: trinitytulsa.com
