Airbus defeats appeal by 'Right Stuff' pilot Chuck Yeager's estate
Reuters
Published Apr 20, 2022 02:23PM ET
By Jonathan Stempel
(Reuters) - Airbus on Wednesday defeated an appeal by the estate of Chuck Yeager, the U.S. Air Force pilot who broke the sound barrier, accusing the aerospace company of using his name and likeness without permission to promote its A380 plane and high-speed Racer helicopter.
Yeager had sued Airbus SE (OTC:EADSY) in 2019 for trademark infringement and violating his right of publicity. He died in 2020 at age 97.
The famous combat and test pilot objected to an A380 sales video shown to employees that contained footage from his 2008 visit to Airbus facilities in Europe.
Yeager also challenged a 2017 Airbus promotional statement on its website touting the helicopter's efficiency, which quoted an executive saying: "Seventy years ago, Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier. We're trying to break the cost barrier."
But the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Pasadena, California, said a lower court judge properly dismissed the case because she lacked jurisdiction, reflecting how neither the video nor the press statement was aimed at California, where Yeager had sued.
In a 3-0 decision, the panel said Yeager did not allege that anyone in California saw the video, and California's large aerospace industry "does not establish that a website with global viewership and scope was expressly aimed at the state."
Lawyers for Yeager's estate and for Airbus did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Yeager became the first person to break the speed of sound, Mach 1, piloting his rocket engine-powered Bell X-1 over Rogers (NYSE:ROG) Dry Lake in Southern California on Oct. 14, 1947.
He become familiar to a younger generation when the actor Sam Shepard portrayed him in the 1983 movie, "The Right Stuff," based on the Tom Wolfe book about the early years of the American space program.
Get The News You Want
Written By: Reuters
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.