Tell Tina Hendrix Billboard that her family was “dismayed and disappointed with the judge’s decision and I feel strongly that it was wrong and unfair for several reasons.”
The contempt ruling against Leon and Tina Hendrix follows a long court battle that began in 2017 when Experience Hendrix LLC – the sole owner of the late rocker’s music compositions, sound recordings, copyright and trademarks – and Authentic Hendrix LLC, the licensing arm for Hendrix, filed an offense case. Experience and authentic Hendrix have sued Leon Hendrix and a business partner for, among other things, trademark infringement, misleading acts and false advertising.
In October 2019, the court issued a permanent injunction against Leon Hendrix and his corporate entities and found that they were working to create an illusion of an empire of ‘authentic’ Jimi Hendrix goods that included[d] cannabis, edible food, wine, alcohol, ‘medicine’ and electronic products, ”according to court documents.
The following year, in July, the court accepted the order in favor of Experience Hendrix, LLC and Authentic Hendrix, LLC, and against Leon Hendrix, its corporate entities. . . partners,. . ”And a $ 402,018.53 ruling against Leon. But just three months later, Experience and Authentic Hendrix told the court that Leon and Tina Hendrix were violating the court’s permanent injunction.
“Experience Hendrix only wants Jimi Hendrix’s relatives of all rights to participate in his legacy, for no other purpose than corporate greed and to spread public misinformation that only they are Jimi’s family. [when] in reality it is not, ”continues Tina Hendrix. ‘This fight is not about money, but about the right to use my own family name for charity. It’s more about freedom of speech and our rights are being violated by this order and the order that precedes this case, which was a default judgment against my father. ‘
She adds: ‘I am surprised that the courts have sided with Experience Hendrix and stripped us of our right to use our own family name after a lifetime of this. This is a rare occurrence. The plaintiff acquired the name Hendrix on the basis of adoption and has used it ever since, only to extract millions of dollars from Jimi Hendrix’s music, while using the proceeds to eliminate Jimi’s biological family members one by one, starting with Jimi’s own son, then Jimi’s brother and now his niece. I never earned one dollar from my uncle while running a free music school for kids. ‘
Despite the fact that Leon was banned by the court from using ‘the name’ Jimi Hendrix ‘, the name’ Jimi ‘, the name’ Hendrix ‘in any configuration. . . ; any registered or pending trademarks of Hendrix. . . ; or any image, parable or signature of Jimi Hendrix. . . in any way, including but not limited to the sale, naming, identification, sale, marketing, labeling, packaging, promotion, distribution or advertising of any product or service, or in connection with any goods and services, ”he subsequently stated according to court documents, an interview aimed at advertising and promoting the sale of an alleged Jimi Hendrix guitar.
In addition, the court said that Leon and Tina Hendrix offered a benefit to raise money for their non-profit ‘Jimi Hendrix Music’ and sold an accompanying Jimi Hendrix T-shirt on their website with an image of Hendrix on the front and a Hendrix quote, followed by a protected Jimi Hendrix signature on the back.
While Tina Hendrix argued in court that the money raised for the HMA academy was for a non-profit charity, the court said that a non-profit status did not release him from his duty to the permanent assignment to meet. Engelmayer also ordered that Leon pay the opposing lawyer’s fees, saying that if he and Tina Hendrix did not comply, a further fine could be imposed, stating that Leon ‘had the keys to his prison in his own pocket. wear.’
Tell Tina Hendrix Billboard, ‘I just want to teach kids about Jimi and use his name for non-profit purposes. My grandfather gave it to us in 1988. Everything we received from Jimi’s fans received from the students and their families. We have served many needy families in honor of Jimi over the past decade. This work has never interfered with the experience or gains of Experience Hendrix, but only their lies. We are currently desperately seeking pro bono legal advice and intend to fight it to the end. We have been and still are known as the Hendrix family since my father was born in 1948. Why should we be silenced and prevented from telling our family history if we are the only ones who could ever tell it? This is an example of how history is rewritten to accommodate lies based on greed and to spread misinformation as fact. ‘