The battle between Carroll Shelby Licensing and the Shelby American Automobile Club is heating up. As reported in a previous blog, Carroll Shelby Licensing and the Shelby American Automobile Club (SAAC) are embroiled in what is becoming a bitter battle over Shelby’s licensing of his name to the club and the Shelby-American records that are in SAAC’s possession.
"On January 29, Carroll Shelby Licensing Inc. and Carroll Hall Shelby Trust filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court against the organization formerly known as the Shelby American Automobile Club (SAAC), which is owned and operated by Ken Eber and Rick Kopec. In the lawsuit, CSL and the Shelby Trust filed for Declaratory Relief, Breach of Contract, and Preliminary and Permanent Injunction against the organization owned by Eber and Kopec.
As outlined in a news release dated December 7, 2007, CSL announced that it had determined not to renew its written license agreement with the organization then known as SAAC. That decision was based, among other business considerations, on a continued disregard for the license agreement requirements. The annual, year-to-year agreement was personally signed by Eber and Kopec on behalf of their club in 1999.
In light of the organization’s repeated claims that it did not recognize, and even had no intention of recognizing the termination of the licensing agreement and that it planned to continue the unauthorized use of trademarks owned by the Shelby Trust and licensed exclusively by CSL, officials with the Shelby Trust and CSL had no other recourse than to file suit. In their filing, CSL and the Shelby Trust seek a declaration from the court that will compel the enforcement of the terms of the licensing agreement both before and after its termination.”