Judge Dismisses ‘Eleanor’ Mustang Copyright Appeal; All Replicas Are Permitted

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      The grey restomod Shelby GT500 Mustang, famously known as “Eleanor” from the movie Gone in 60 Seconds, is iconic and easily recognizable among car enthusiasts. However, as determined by the appeals court that has recently ruled on this matter, it lacks sufficient distinctiveness to merit copyright protection.

      As of May 27, 2025, an appeals court has confirmed a prior ruling that removed the original director of Gone in 60 Seconds' estate's rights to prevent independent companies from creating replicas of the GT500, which has been featured in four films. That’s right, four films. Alongside the original, there's the Nicolas Cage remake of Gone in 60 Seconds, The Junkman (a meta-film featuring the original director), and Deadline Auto Theft, a re-imagined version of the original akin to something George Lucas would create. Some might argue that writer-director H. B. Halicki and his estate have been exploiting Eleanor since the outset, but a recent appellate court ruling from Pasadena, Calif., seems to signify the end of that chapter.

      If this sounds familiar, that's not your imagination. The lawsuit initiated by the Shelby Trust against Halicki’s widow, Denice (who holds the copyrights to the first three films and the merchandising rights for Eleanor as depicted in the remake), was previously decided nearly three years ago. The Shelby Trust and Halicki had earlier reached a settlement regarding design elements imitated by Shelby in a “GT500E” replica that closely resembled the car featured in the 2000 version of Gone in 60 Seconds.

      Shortly after that settlement, Shelby and Classic Recreations introduced the GT500-CR (shown above). Naturally, Halicki pursued legal action against both Shelby and Classic Recreations for breaching their settlement agreement, and subsequently targeted other builders entering the same market. In response, the Shelby Trust initiated a lawsuit. Halicki’s legal team argued that Eleanor was a character deserving of intellectual property protection, which would render it illegal for Shelby to create and sell unlicensed replicas. The estate lost the case but appealed, leading to the current ruling and the introduction of the Towle Test.

      The official Fusion Motors “Eleanor” replica. www.thedrive.com

      This test, named after a copyright case (DC Comics v. Mark Towle) concerning unauthorized reproductions of the Batmobile from the Adam West era, is used to ascertain if something qualifies as a “character.” It requires three criteria to be met (quoted directly from the ruling):

      1. The character must possess “physical as well as conceptual qualities.”

      2. The character must be “sufficiently delineated to be recognizable as the same character whenever it appears,” exhibiting “consistent, identifiable character traits and attributes.”

      3. The character must be “especially distinctive” and include “unique elements of expression.”

      According to the court, Eleanor fails to meet any of these three criteria.

      The biggest setback for Halicki's case is Eleanor's inconsistent depiction on screen and the absence of any anthropomorphizing traits. Essentially, Eleanor doesn’t exhibit any unique behaviors or traits that would distinguish it, nor does it interact in a uniquely characteristic manner. While courts do not expect a non-human character to possess K.I.T.T.-level sentience, some level of agency (even if only suggested through interactions with human or human-like characters) is essential in arguing that something qualifies as a character rather than merely a prop. The court has effectively categorized Eleanor as just another prop car.

      This is the sort of logical assessment one might expect from legal experts, and while we support the idea of allowing replica builders to create exciting products, there is a sense of disappointment. Call me a romantic, but I struggle to envision just any car performing the same remarkable stunts as Memphis Raines did with that wreck on the Vincent Thomas Bridge. That was more than just a prop—it was Eleanor.

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