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Ninth Circuit Upholds WA State Publicity Rights Amendment

By Amanda Bronstad
February 28, 2014

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld the constitutionality of Washington's publicity rights law in a trademark dispute over the rights to singer and guitarist Jimi Hendrix's name and likeness. Experience Hendrix LLC v. Hendrixlicensing.com Ltd., 11-35858.

Experience Hendrix LLC, the Seattle company owned by Hendrix's family members, claimed in a 2009 suit that Hendrixlicensing.com LLC and its owner, Andrew Pitsicalis, were licensing merchandise in violation of its trademarks. Pitsicalis asked for a declaratory judgment that Experience Hendrix could not bring claims under Washington's Personality Rights Act, Wash. Rev. Code ”63.60.010-63.60.080. Although it hadn't sued under the act, Experience Hendrix had done so unsuccessfully in the past ' but the law was amended to grant post-mortem publicity rights regardless of where a person lived or died. Hendrix died in New York in 1970.

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