U.S. Appeals Court Says Ford Mustang Eleanor Can’t Be Copyrighted

The Ford Mustang Eleanor, as it’s now known, skyrocketed to fame thanks to its starring role in the Gone in 60 Seconds movie remake back in 2000, prompting many to try and build their own replica of that big screen star. However, the widow of the man who created the original 1974 film – Denice Shakarian Halicki – has worked to keep the Ford Mustang Eleanor copyright protected, successfully shutting down multiple projects before the Shelby Trust prevailed in a lawsuit over the same matter in late 2022. Now, Halicki has taken another big hit in court.

According to Bloomberg Law, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has ruled that Ford Mustang Eleanor movie cars aren’t eligible for copyright protection because they fail to qualify as a character, and are “more akin to a prop.” This backs a prior decision from the California federal district court that denied the same copyright ability and noted that Carroll Shelby Licensing Inc. didn’t violate a settlement agreement with Halicki by building and selling vehicles that look similar to the Ford Mustang Eleanor movie cars.

The Ninth Circuit determined that the district court was correct in its conclusion that the Ford Mustang Eleanor isn’t entitled to protection under existing copyright laws because it “lacks anthropomorphic qualities” such as expressing a personality, speaking, or “acting with agency and volition.” Interestingly, other movie vehicles like the Batmobile have been determined to be copyrightable, but that wasn’t the case here, as the court stated that Eleanor “lacks any such conceptual qualities,” along with “consistent traits across the films,” noting that it isn’t unique among “any number of sports cars appearing in car-centric action films.”

Prior to these two decisions, Halicki used her company, Eleanor Licensing LLC, to shut down numerous Mustang Eleanor projects, have cars seized, and she also won a lawsuit against Carroll Shelby, who attempted to copyright and license the customer version of the Eleanor Mustang he created for the Gone in 60 Seconds reboot.