Denice Shakarian Halicki, Eleanor Licensing, LLC, and Gone in 60 Seconds Motorsports, LLC, are part of an ongoing lawsuit against Carroll Shelby Licensing, Inc., Carroll Hall Shelby Trust, Classic Recreations, LLC, Jason Engel and Tony Engel, (“Shelby/Classic Recreations”). The breach of contract lawsuit seeks millions of dollars from Shelby/Classic Recreations for licensing, building, and selling unauthorized replicas of Denice Halicki’s Eleanor car character from Halicki/Disney’s copyrighted 2000 Remake film “Gone in 60 Seconds” and profiting hundreds of thousands from the infringement. Denice Halicki is the exclusive legal owner of the Eleanor car character, a claim that Disney also confirmed, including all merchandising rights, which include vehicles. These rights include the Eleanor car character’s look, image, and name from both the copyrighted Original and Remake of “Gone in 60 Seconds.”
The District Court set a trial in March 2023 for, among other claims, Denice Halicki’s breach of contract claims against Shelby for breach of their prior settlement agreement with Denice Halicki and against Classic Recreations for breach of their prior license agreement with Denice Halicki’s Eleanor Licensing, LLC. Denice Halicki looks forward to her day in court and forcing Shelby/Classic Recreations to stand by their word.
“I would have never agreed to settle the 2004 and 2007 Federal lawsuits against Shelby for infringement of my Eleanor car character if it was not over in any way shape or form. It never brings me joy to have to sue someone for infringement. I want to enjoy my franchise and brands, yet I know I have to protect my rights, as we all should against infringers who sell counterfeit goods to the public. I never feel infringers love the franchise, they just want to take from it. Gone in 60 Seconds and the Eleanor car character franchise, brands, fan loyalty and merchandise have been going strong for over 48 years with the Original and 22 years with the Remake. The Eleanor car character’s demand and popularity are greater than ever.” Said Denice Halicki
– Excerpt from an article for Business Wire by Hilary Popejoy. Read the full article here.
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