Mediator to Help Resolve Evel Knievel, Kanye West Legal Dispute
By Ray McDonald
Washington
12 July 2007
Kanye West
Evel Knievel and Kanye West have agreed to use a mediator to resolve a legal dispute.
The motorcycle daredevil and the Grammy-winning rapper notified a federal judge on July 10 that they will attempt to settle their battle over West's use of Knievel's tradmarked image in a music video.
Last December, the 68-year-old Knievel sued the 29-year-old West over his video for the single "Touch The Sky." The clip showed Kanye West adopting Evel Knievel's star-studded jumpsuit while attempting to jump a rocket-powered motorcycle over a canyon.
The video was inspired by Knievel's 1974 attempt to jump the Snake River Canyon in Idaho, at which he failed spectacularly. He sustained scrapes and bruises after landing about six meters from the river on the rocky south bank.
Kanye West's video shows his vehicle crashing to the bottom of the canyon in flames. Evel Knievel - born Robert Craig Knievel, Jr. - claimed infringement on his trademarked name and likeness.
The lawsuit also named Roc-A-Fella Records, video director Chris Milk, and distributor AOL, the Internet division of Time Warner Inc. West's attorney's argued the video amounted to satire, covered under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Knievel and West will share mediation expenses.
source:
http://www.voanews.com
