This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies.
Access practice tools, as well as industry leading news, customizable alerts, dockets, and primary content, including a comprehensive collection of case law, dockets, and regulations. Leverage...
Two companies representing rock guitarist Jimi Hendrix’s estate sued his brother March 16 in a long-running dispute over the use of trademarks and copyrights in Hendrix-themed products such as “Jimi’s Cannabis Collection Purple Haze” and “Jimi’s Wines” ( Experience Hendrix, L.L.C. et al v. Pitsicalis et al , S.D.N.Y., No. 1:17-cv-01927, complaint filed 3/16/17 ).
Washington state-based Experience Hendrix LLC and Authentic Hendrix LLC filed the complaint against Leon Hendrix; his business partner, Andrew Pitsicalis; and their company, Purple Haze Properties LLC in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. It follows similar suits Hendrix’s estate has filed against the musician’s brother during the last decade. Both companies hold the rights to intellectual property that belonged to Hendrix.
Jimi’s father, Al Hendrix, who died in 2002, bequeathed the ownership of the Hendrix estate, including the two companies, to family members but excluded Leon Hendrix.
The defendants recently “renewed and expanded” their alleged infringement of Hendrix’s trademarks and copyrights “through the creation, development, licensing, manufacturing, promotion, advertising and sale of cannabis, edibles, food, wine, alcohol, ‘medicines,’ electronic products, and other goods,” the two companies said in their complaint.
Thomas Osinki, an attorney representing Leon Hendrix, Pitsicalis and Purple Haze, told Bloomberg BNA in an email that the companies brought “this frivolous suit now only to further tarnish and interfere with Jimi’s brother Leon’s lawful and proper business that rightfully respects Jimi Hendrix’s legacy.”
The two companies representing Hendrix’s estate did not immediately respond to a request for comment. They hold the rights to Hendrix’s trademarks, including “Jimi Hendrix” and his signature, as well as copyrights on his popular composition “Purple Haze” and album “Axis: Bold As Love,” they said in the complaint.
Experience Hendrix and Authentic Hendrix have asked the court to stop the defendants from using the Hendrix estate’s trademarks and copyrights in products for sale and sought damages for allegedly wrongful gains by the defendants.
Previously, the defendants filed trademark applications, such as those through an entity called Jimi Electronics Inc., to trademark “Jimi” and “Jimi Jams” for audio speaker products. The Patent and Trademark Office denied the applications, saying they would create a likelihood of confusion with the Hendrix estate’s registered marks, according to the complaint.
The two companies have previously filed infringement suits against Leon Hendrix, Pitsicalis and companies with which they were associated .
In 2008, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington found that Leon Hendrix and his business partners wrongfully marketed and sold vodka and other merchandise using Hendrix’s signature and headshot marks, following an infringement complaint by the two companies.
Following another suit in 2016, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia granted a partial injunction against Tiger Paw Distributors LLC, which had partnered with Leon Hendrix to sell a line of alcoholic drinks, including “Purple Haze Liqueur.”
The Georgia court banned the defendants from using the word “Jimi” in packaging or promotional materials, including web addresses, but declined to grant an injunction based on trademark dilution claims.
To contact the reporter on this story: Malathi Nayak in Washington at mnayak@bna.com
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Mike Wilczek at mwilczek@bna.com
Complaint available at http://src.bna.com/m5v.
Copyright © 2017 The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
All Bloomberg BNA treatises are available on standing order, which ensures you will always receive the most current edition of the book or supplement of the title you have ordered from Bloomberg BNA’s book division. As soon as a new supplement or edition is published (usually annually) for a title you’ve previously purchased and requested to be placed on standing order, we’ll ship it to you to review for 30 days without any obligation. During this period, you can either (a) honor the invoice and receive a 5% discount (in addition to any other discounts you may qualify for) off the then-current price of the update, plus shipping and handling or (b) return the book(s), in which case, your invoice will be cancelled upon receipt of the book(s). Call us for a prepaid UPS label for your return. It’s as simple and easy as that. Most importantly, standing orders mean you will never have to worry about the timeliness of the information you’re relying on. And, you may discontinue standing orders at any time by contacting us at 1.800.960.1220 or by sending an email to books@bna.com.
Put me on standing order at a 5% discount off list price of all future updates, in addition to any other discounts I may quality for. (Returnable within 30 days.)
Notify me when updates are available (No standing order will be created).
This Bloomberg BNA report is available on standing order, which ensures you will all receive the latest edition. This report is updated annually and we will send you the latest edition once it has been published. By signing up for standing order you will never have to worry about the timeliness of the information you need. And, you may discontinue standing orders at any time by contacting us at 1.800.372.1033, option 5, or by sending us an email to research@bna.com.
Put me on standing order
Notify me when new releases are available (no standing order will be created)