North East F-Body Association - SVE (Formerly SLP)

http://www.law360.com/articles/47353...over-knockoffs

Quote:

The daughter of the late Don Yenko, who designed several influential Chevrolet Camero muscle cars, sued two businesses on Tuesday in Illinois for trademark infringement for selling automobile accessories that use her father's name.
Lynn Yenko-Zoiopoulos sued California-based General Marketing Capital Inc. and Classic Industries Corp. for violating Don Yenko's publicity rights and trademarks. The companies are accused of selling unauthorized Yenko-branded specialty automotive merchandise and products.

GMCI and Classic “have built a substantial business” selling automotive merchandise, the lawsuit said. Lynn Yenko-Zoiopoulos claims the business' growth can be attributed, in part, to capitalizing on her family's famous last name.

“The heirs of Donald Frank Yenko have never given anyone permission or license to use the name or mark 'Yenko' for any purpose, other than a certain limited permission given to the Yenko Sportscar Club, an organization of 'Yenko' sports car automotive enthusiasts,” according to the complaint.

The lawsuit seeks damages and an injunction preventing GMCI and Classic from continuing to use Yenko's name. The complaint also seeks a declaration that the companies have violated Don Yenko's publicity rights under California and Pennsylvania law.

Under the laws of those states, individuals have a posthumous publicity right that can be bequeathed to their heirs.

Don Yenko, who died in 1987, designed and sold a line of sports vehicles under the Yenko name and trademark. Between 1966 and 1981, he sold more than 800 high-performance vehicles, according to the complaint.

One of his most famous creations was a line of Yenko Super Cameros that he co-designed with his colleague Dick Harrell in the late 1960s, according to the biography “Yenko: The Man, the Machines, the Legend”.

Yenko owned a U.S. Trademark Registration for the use of his name, but that expired five years after his death, in 1992, according to the complaint. Despite the registration not being renewed, Lynn Yenko-Zoiopoulos claims that her father's name has endured among car collectors.

"Don Yenko's name and reputation have remained strong to the present day because of the continued interest and devoted efforts of thousands of automobile enthusiasts," the lawsuit said.

GMCI and Classic could not immediately be reached for comment Tuesday.

Lynn Yenko-Zoiopoulos is represented by Roxanne Bryant Jackson.

Counsel information for the defendants was not immediately available.

The case is Lynn Yenko-Zoiopoulos v. General Marketing Capital Inc. et al., case number 1:13-cv-06649, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.