Plug pulled on Jimi Hendrix Vodka

A U.S. District Court Judge in Seattle ordered the makers of Hendrix Electric Vodka to pay $3.2 million in damages for infringing on trademarks and licensing rights owned by the late guitarist’s estate. Jimi Hendrix known best for “Purple Haze,” died in 1970, without a will, and his estate went to his father, Al Hendrix. When the elder Hendrix died, he left a will that excluded Leon from the estate, leaving it under the control of Janie Hendrix. Janie and his half-brother, Leon, have been battling for years over control of holdings that bring in far more money now than when Jimi Hendrix was alive.  After Janie gained control of the estate and licensing in a prior court case, Seattle businessman Craig Dieffenbach and Hendrix’s half-brother, Leon Hendrix, began marketing Electric Hendrix Vodka in 2005. The court order permanently barred Electric Hendrix from commercially using, advertising or challenging the trademarks and logos controlled by Experience Hendrix and Authentic Hendrix, two companies owned by the Hendrix estate. The terms also bar the vodka company from registering identical or “confusingly similar” trademarks.

Tags: jimi hendrix vodka

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 4th, 2009 at 4:15 PM and is filed under Biz News, Main. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.