Shelby "Eleanor" Case Gets the Go Ahead

You might recall some time ago that Denice Halicki, the widow of the original "Gone in 60 Seconds" director H.B. "Toby" Halicki, filed a lawsuit against Carroll Shelby claiming he infringed on her copyright and trademark rights. The dispute revolves around the name "Eleanor", which was the name of a 1973 Mach 1 Mustang in the original "Gone in 60 Seconds" movie. The 2000 remake, starring Nic Cage, featured a 1967 GT500 Mustang playing the part of "Eleanor". The modified classic Shelby Mustang from the 2000 film became a huge success. As such, cars resembling the "Eleanor" Mustang were built after the movie for profit, which brings us back to the lawsuit.

Halicki claims Shelby had no right to license the use of the name "Eleanor" to Mustang builder Unique Performance, which once built classic Mustangs in Farmers Branch, Tex. The company has since gone out of business after an unrelated criminal investigation. Shelby, however, claims he obtained trademark rights to use "Eleanor" with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. According to CanadianDriver, a California appeals court gave Halicki the go ahead to pursue her case against Shelby on Thursday. A District Court’s had previously dismissed the case.

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Source: CanadianDriver

Photo © Jonathan P. Lamas