Seattle Trademark Lawyer

Evel Knievel filed suit December 8 against rapper Kanye West for a music video featuring Mr. West portraying a daredevil named “Evel Kanyevel” who attempts to jump the Snake River Canyon on a motorcycle. Mr. Knievel, whose full name is Robert Craig “Evel” Knievel, alleges that use of the name “Evel Kanyevel” infringes his EVEL KNIEVEL registered trademark; that the “Evel Kanyevel” name and “the Evel Knievel Jumpsuit” that Mr. West wears in the video dilute Mr. Knievel’s famous trademarks; that the “Evel Knievel Jumpsuit” infringes Mr. Knievel’s trade dress; and that use of the name and jumpsuit in connection with an attempted televised jump over a canyon on a motorcycle similar to Mr. Knievel’s “sky cycle” violates Mr. Knievel’s statutory right of publicity. 

Mr. Knievel’s apparent allegation in part that he, alone, may attempt to jump a canyon on a motorcycle on TV under Florida’s right of publicity statute brings to mind Alex Kozinski’s dissent in White v. Samsung Electronics America, Inc., 971 F.2d 1395 (9th Cir. 1992). In that case, the Ninth Circuit found that a print ad depicting a robot turning letters on a game show stage violated Vanna White’s common law right of publicity. Judge Kozinski believed that that decision went too far. He argued, “[t]he panel is giving White an exclusive right not in what she looks like or who she is, but in what she does for a living.” Under this standard, Judge Kozinski argued that “a monkey in a wig and gown” turning letters on a game show stage would violate Ms. White’s right of publicity. It will be interesting to see if the Middle District of Florida applies similar reasoning to Mr. Knievel’s publicity claim.

The video (sometimes after a brief commercial) is viewable here.