Latest news with #H.B.Halicki
The Drive
2 days ago
- Automotive
- The Drive
Judge Kills ‘Eleanor' Mustang Copyright Appeal. All Replicas Are Legal
The latest car news, reviews, and features. The grey restomod Shelby GT500 Mustang known as 'Eleanor' from Gone in 60 Seconds is iconic and immediately recognizable to car nerds. It is not, however, distinctive enough to have its likeness protected by copyright, at least according to the appeals court that has finally settled a case around this issue. As of May 27, 2025, an appeals court has upheld a previous ruling that stripped the original Gone in 60 Seconds director's estate of the rights to restrict independent outfits from building replicas of the GT500 that has appeared in four films. Yep, that's right, four . In addition to the original, there's Nicolas Cage Gone in 60 Seconds remake, along with a meta-film starring the original film's director ( The Junkman ), and a George-Lucas-esque re-imagining of the original dubbed Deadline Auto Theft . One might say that writer-director H. B. Halicki and his estate have been milking poor ole Ellie for all she's worth since day one, but an appellate court ruling out of Pasadena, Calif., looks like it'll put this old cow out to pasture for good. If this sounds familiar, you're not crazy. The suit brought by the Shelby Trust against Halicki's surviving wife, Denice (who owns the copyrights to the first three films, in addition to the merchandising rights to Eleanor as it appears in the remake film) was originally ruled on nearly three years ago. Previously, Shelby and Halicki had settled a suit relating to design details being mimicked by Shelby in a 'GT500E' replica it sold that looked conspicuously similar (virtually identical, one might say) to the car used in the 2000 remake of Gone in 60 Seconds . Not long after that suit was settled, Shelby and Classic Recreations came right back with the GT500-CR (pictured up top there). Unsurprisingly, Halicki went after both Shelby and CR for violating their settlement agreement, and has since gone after other builders who have ventured into the same space. The Shelby Trust ended up suing in retaliation. Again, Halicki's lawyers contended that Eleanor was a character and thus protected intellectual property, which would make it illegal for Shelby to build and sell unlicensed replicas. The estate lost the suit, then appealed. That brings us to the most recent ruling and something called the Towle Test. Official Fusion Motors 'Eleanor' replica. Named for a copyright case (DC Comics v. Mark Towle) involving unlicensed reproductions of the Adam West-era Batmobile, this is a standard applied to determine whether something constitutes a 'character.' All it has to do is check three boxes (cited here directly from the ruling): The character must have 'physical as well as conceptual qualities,' The character must be 'sufficiently delineated to be recognizable as the same character whenever it appears' and display 'consistent, identifiable character traits and attributes,' and The character must be 'especially distinctive' and contain 'some unique elements of expression.' According to the court, Eleanor misses all three qualifications. What hurts Halicki's case the most is Eleanor's inconsistent on-screen portrayal and lack of any anthropomorphizing qualities. In other words, Eleanor doesn't say or do anything distinctive, nor act in any inherently characteristic way. Courts don't necessarily expect a non-human character to take on K.I.T.T. levels of sentience, but a degree of agency (even if only implied through interaction with actual human or human-esque characters) goes a long way toward making the case that something is a character rather than a prop. And that's effectively what the court is calling Eleanor—just another prop car. This is the sort of rational take we expect from those who are fluent in legalese, and while we're all for opening up the taps to allow replica builders to produce cool stuff, we can't help but feel a bit let down. Call me a romantic if you must, but I find it hard to imagine just any old car getting Mephis Raines over that wreck on the Vincent Thomas Bridge. That was no mere prop. That was Eleanor . Got a tip? Drop us a line at tips@
Car and Driver
4 days ago
- Automotive
- Car and Driver
Ford Mustang 'Eleanor' from Gone in 60 Seconds Belongs to the World
A new ruling confirms that the "Eleanor" Ford Mustang from Gone in 60 Seconds is not copyright protected. The ruling states that the Mustang doesn't pass tests that would qualify it as a character. This legal battle has been going on for 20 (!) years and may not yet be over. There are multiple examples in TV and film where the car is the star, or at the very least a supporting character. It's part of what makes movies fun and broadens the appeal of the vehicles far beyond the automotive enthusiast set. Consider: There are plenty of people who wouldn't look twice at a Buick GNX but immediately recognize a DeLorean DMC-12 as the time machine from Back to the Future. Both are 1980s icons; it's just that one's a lot more famous. But even if the fans decide that a car plays a leading role on screen, the law takes a different view. According to the latest legal update in the legal brawl over "Eleanor," the series of Ford Mustangs from the Gone in 60 Seconds movie franchise, a car is not a character and thus cannot be copyrighted. In a published judgment from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, three judges denied the copyrightability of the Eleanor Mustang. The ruling called the car a prop, not a character. This wrangling has been going on for a while, and it relates directly to a feud between the Shelby group and Denice Halicki. As the widow of H.B. Halicki, the stuntman behind the original Gone in 60 Seconds, she holds the copyrights to the films and was involved in the 2000 reboot with Nicholas Cage and Angelina Jolie. In the early movies, Eleanor is a 1971 Ford Mustang Sportsroof. The hero car from the 2000 movie is arguably more famous, a 1967 Mustang Fastback with customization by Chip Foose. It's a very recognizable car with side-exit exhausts, valance-mounted auxiliary lights, and some touches that are consistent with other cars styled by Foose. It's the kind of thing that inspires replicas, both professional and fan tributes. Mecum Auctions Mecum Auctions There's plenty of legalese in the ruling, but it breaks down copyright law via the Towle test, which was a 2015 case involving a builder of Batmobile replicas. In that case, the court ruled that the replicas did indeed violate DC's copyright ownership of the Batmobile in its various iterations. However, the ruling noted that the Batmobile was in fact a character, capable of some autonomy, and of course had very distinctive features. (Holy jet engine, Batman.) In this case, judges ruled that Eleanor failed the three prongs of the Towle test, lacking anthromorphic qualities, consistent traits, and specifically distinctive qualities. For instance, Herbie the Love Bug might pass all three tests. Ecto-1 would be recognizable even if it was a different kind of Cadillac ambulance. Whether a car is a character in law will vary from case to case. Here, the judgment says that Eleanor isn't eligible for copyright as a character. However, seeing that this legal action has been going on for 20 years, not 60 seconds, that might not be the last you hear of things. Brendan McAleer Contributing Editor Brendan McAleer is a freelance writer and photographer based in North Vancouver, B.C., Canada. He grew up splitting his knuckles on British automobiles, came of age in the golden era of Japanese sport-compact performance, and began writing about cars and people in 2008. His particular interest is the intersection between humanity and machinery, whether it is the racing career of Walter Cronkite or Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki's half-century obsession with the Citroën 2CV. He has taught both of his young daughters how to shift a manual transmission and is grateful for the excuse they provide to be perpetually buying Hot Wheels. Read full bio
