The trademark infringement lawsuit filed by Evel Knievel’s son against the Walt Disney Co. and Pixar last year has been dismissed by a judge who ruled that the Toy Story 4 daredevil character Duke Caboom did not infringe upon the legendary stunt motorcyclist’s persona, the Associated Press reported Thursday. U.S. District Judge James Mahan out of Las Vegas dismissed the case against Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures on Sept. 23, writing that while the Toy Story 4 character, voiced by Keanu Reeves, was “reminiscent” of Kneivel, Disney’s use included “significant transformative elements” that differentiated it from being a literal depiction.
Kelly Knievel previously characterized the Caboom character as “a direct knock-off of the legend and historical significance” of Evel Knievel’s father, who died in 2007 at 69 due to lung disease. “We’re obviously disappointed,” Kelly told the AP Monday, adding, “We are considering our options” at the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco.
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The lawsuit, initially filed in September 2020, accused Disney and Pixar of intentionally using Knievel to model Caboom, a toy motorcycle stuntman described as a 1970s-era daredevil based on “Canada’s greatest stuntman,” wearing a white jumpsuit and helmet sporting the Canadian flag. Knievel was known for his daring motorcycle jumps over the year as well as his American flag insignia and jumpsuit. The lawsuit noted there was an Evel Knievel Stunt Cycle toy released in 1973 that included a Knievel action figure wearing a white helmet and jumpsuit with patriotic American insignias on a motorcycle.ย
However, the judge ruled that because the character has a different name, clothing, style, hair color, facial hair and nationality than Knievel, Caboom is fair game for Disney and Pixar. “Duke Caboom is not a carbon copy of Evel Knievel minus a few details,” Mahan wrote in his decision. “The Duke Caboom action figure is a representation of Disney’s expression in the film and not an attempt to imitate Evel Knievel.”
Knievel’s career made him an international icon, and the daredevil’s 433 bone fractures throughout his career earned him a place in the Guinness Book of World Records as the survivor of “most bones broken in a lifetime.” Knievel was also inducted into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1999.
