Evel Knievel and Kanye West try to settle copyright row
Evel Knievel and Kanye West think they can work it out.
The iconic motorcycle daredevil and Grammy Award-winning rapper notified a federal judge yesterday they will use a mediator to try to settle a lawsuit Knievel filed over the use of his trademarked image in a West video.
Knievel, who lives in Florida, sued West in December. He took issue with a 2006 music video for the song, Touch the Sky, in which the rapper takes on the persona of “Evel Kanyevel” and tries to jump a rocket-powered motorcycle over a canyon.
In the video, West dons the familiar Knievel star-studded jump-suit and jumps a canyon in a vehicle “visually indistinguishable” from the Skycyle in which Knievel attempted to jump the Snake River Canyon in Idaho in 1974, the suit said.
The 68-year-old Knievel claimed infringement on his trademarked name and likeness. He also claimed the “vulgar and offensive” images depicted in the video damage his reputation.
West’s attorneys argued the video amounted to satire, covered under the First Amendment.
The suit also names Roc-A-Fella Records, video director Chris Milk, and AOL for distributing it.
Knievel and West will share mediation expenses.
