Hannah Lawsuit Shows She’s After Damages AND Profits From iZip

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by Michael dEstries September 30, 2008
Categories: Transport
Tags: .

daryl hannah izipYesterday’s news of Daryl Hannah filing a lawsuit against Currie Technologies — makers of hybrid electric bikes under the company name iZip — brought with it anger, confusion, and sympathy. As some of our commenters pointed out, it’s well within Hannah’s rights to protect her image — we just found it odd that she was going after a green company for what appeared to be fair publicity after she used — and accepted — a free bike from them.

Entertainment Tonight has shed a bit more detail on the lawsuit after getting their hands on a copy and uploading it online. First, apparently representatives of Daryl Hannah contacted Currie Technologies back in May of 2008 and politely asked them to discontinue using pictures of her in brochures, the website, and other promotions. Currie said that they would comply, but it appears they never did. Hence, the legal proceedings.

We’ve also learned that not only is Daryl seeking $1 million in damages (of which we find silly — really? I mean, it’s not like they showed her plugging oil or something…), but she’s also after all profits made during the time when the photos were first used on iZip’s website. That’s really rough — and in this economy, it wouldn’t be surprising if such a blow knocked iZip down hard.

So — it’s a sad situation. On one hand, Currie should have removed Daryl Hannah’s photos when first requested. On the other, it’s too bad that her camp didn’t further threaten legal action one more time before throwing down the big guns — and really financially nailing Currie.

Check out the photos in question below. Also, see if you can spot the Ecorazzi logo in the lawsuit here.


Categories: Transport
Tags: .

About Michael dEstries

Michael has been blogging since 2005 on issues such as sustainability, renewable energy, philanthropy, and healthy living. He regularly contributes to a slew of publications, as well as consulting with companies looking to make an impact using the web and social media. He lives in Ithaca, NY with his family on an apple farm.

View all posts by Michael dEstries →

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  • http://BrainyBlonde.com erin

    let me preface this by saying i am SO not into lawsuits suing etc… with that being said, she called and asked them politely. they said they’d take them down. they didn’t. quite frankly they screwed up royally and probably pissed her off. it’s personal now. how dumb of them not to comply….

    (most places just get sued and don’t even get the polite call) When Daryll Hannah fricking calls you – you should listen. Now your business might go under instead. Sad but true ;(

    E

  • shannon

    i agreed that ms. hannah has the right to her image & all that – that makes sense. they didn’t comply, so that’s their mistake. however, $1 million? is this to teach them a lesson? cuz she doesn’t need it and please, “damages”?

    well, i certainly hope (IF awarded) that money goes toward an eco-charity of some kind. in fact, that should be the punishment if the cast doesn’t settle or get thrown out – iZip or Currie has to donate to an eco-charity of her choice.

  • shannon

    oh, and i meant if the “case” doesn’t settle, not cast. LOL

  • electricbike

    As a Currie insider, I can tell you that Daryl never called and politely asked that her images be removed. It was a threating letter from her lawyer representing her and when received, the images were removed within 2 weeks. The lawsuit claims the were not removed but they were. My guess is that the clicked on page links and the pages were stored on the computers cache without being refreshed. Really an unfortunate situation.

  • Liz

    wow EB, if that is the case then I do feel bad for them. Has anyone tried to reason with DH?

    Also is two weeks too much time? I don’t know too much about this stuff but if I got a letter I’d have taken them down that week for sure but either way very sad :(

  • b-dawg

    This whole thing seems absurd to me. I mean, Ms. Hannah accepts the bike from Currie and uses the promotional item in a well-publicized event. People (and MEDIA) TAKE PHOTOS OF HER USING THE PRODUCT. And the company turns around and (Gasp!) actually USES the photos to promote their product?? The same photos which don’t require anyone else to get explicit permission to use them (say, to promote a certain event?). Because someone actually figures out a way to make money from her choice of bike to ride in the event, now she sees dollar signs and says, “Where’s my piece of the pie?” She is supposed to be so eco-friendly, but her greed makes her the worst kind of person to represent the cause. Sure, eco-friendly – as long as she’s getting some kind of cut, right? Really? Did anyone see anything in her suit about ASKING for specific compensation on the use of her photos before she filed the lawsuit? Her career isn’t so huge right now. Guess she’s found some other way to get paid and make a name for herself in the papers…

  • cdc

    She does not sound eco-friendly. More like eco-greedy!

    Lets put a start-up eco friendly company out of business. Nice girl!

    What ever happened to communication? If she were a country with nuclear weapons, it would be World War III. She just lunched her missiles with little warning!

    No wonder she is still single. She is a total hot head with a huge ego.

  • http://www.lumag.com Remy Chevalier

    Now, isn’t Ecorazzi going to get sued for reproducing the photos here?

  • david

    She is the embodiment of greed. What a shame they chose a the top ranked Trailer T. celebrity.

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