One of the most mythical cars in the history of cinema can be “copied” by anyone. And that has consequences for the industry

You can have Eleanor in the garage. That is what an American court has decided for whom the most famous Ford Mustang of ‘cars thieves’ or his Ramake ’60 seconds’ is mere telzzo and not a character in itself. And this has its particular implications when selling replicas.

He is not a character. Specifically, according to a United States Court, it is “ATZZO”. We read the information in Motorpasion where they echo the ratification of a sentence that has been chasing Shelby for a long time. According to his decision, the coach may continue selling Eleanor replicas.

That is, if you want, Shelby can sell a preparation of the Ford Mustang as they appeared in the film since those responsible for the Court of Appeals of the Ninth US Circuit have indicated that we are facing a mere vehicle and not a character in itself so you cannot apply copyright.

Where do we come from? The decision of this Court certifies the previously issued other courts of lower rank. Denice Halicki, widow of HB Halicki, director, screenwriter and producer of ‘Gone in 60 Seconds’, known in the 70s in Spain as ‘cars thieves’ had denounced Shelby for selling vehicle replicas.

Then there was a judicial career that It began in 2022 and that has ended in 2025 with the ratification of the latter court. And although Shelby can continue to manufacture their replicas, there are a little smaller particular cases that have also received good news, Like this youtuber who had been tried for the feet of his particular modification.

Identifying features. That is what Denice Halicki has defended all this time. According to the woman of the screenwriter, director and producer of the original film, that Eleanor reappeared with a leading role in the remake known as ’60 seconds’ gave an idea of ​​its relevance and, in his opinion, that it was one more character in the film.

For the judge, however, “Eleanor has no right to the protection of the copyright of the characters because (1) had no conceptual qualities, (2) had no consistent features and (3) was not especially distinctive”, in words collected by Carscoop.

In fact, they point out that “along four films and eleven appearances in those films, Eleanor lacks consistent features. For example, Eleanor’s physical appearance frequently changes throughout the various films, appearing as a yellow and black fastback Mustback, a Mustang Shelby GT-500 gray and black and an oxidized and without paint that needs repair.”

Eleanor is not a batmobo. In the films that have appeared, Eleanor has always been shown as a special car. Without going any further, in ’60 seconds’ Nicolas Cage points to that of all cars that have to steal during the movie, Eleanor is special because he has always escaped him. Knowing if you will get it is, without a doubt, the great attraction of all the films in which you have appeared.

But, for the judges, it is not a Batmobile. They point out that in this case we do talk about a character in itself because the Batmóvil can act for itself (without Bruce Wayne at his side) and has a specific and very identity aesthetic (which resembles a bat).

Towle test. What the judges applied to know if Eleanor was or not protected by copyright is what is known as “Towle test”. That is, the car would be subject to copyright if it meets the following premises:

1. The character must have physical and conceptual qualities.
2. The character must be sufficiently delineated to be recognizable as the same character every time it appears. It must show consistent and identifiable features and attributes, although the character does not need to have a consistent appearance.
3. The character must be especially different and contain some unique elements of expression. It cannot be an archetypal character.

This test refers to what was applied in the same court in 2015 to decide if the Batmóvil was a character in itself, after DC Comics denounced Mark Towel, a man who had manufactured the car replicas. In this case, he failed in favor of the plaintiff and, therefore, the foundations settled to know whether or not a character was a character in himself.

A break. As we say, this victory is a break for Shelby and for people who, on their own like the youtuber of B is for buildThey have wanted to work in their own replicas of the famous Mustang Shelby GT-500.

These types of replicas are common among the greatest fans of certain films and vehicles that modify their cars to have their own Kitt, Herbie or the Delorean ‘return to the future’. Even Ford has sold its own ‘Bullit’ version of Ford Mustangremembering the beautiful sports that Steve McQueen was driving in the film of the same name.

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