In this week's post, as Hollywood releases a mega-blockbuster featuring big Hollywood names and even bigger automobile names, we look back at the history of Shelby’s Cobra name and associated IP holdings, because it holds many valuable intellectual property law lessons.

The Winding Roads of Shelby’s Cobra

Shelby’s Cobra IP History Teaches Lessons in Trademark Protection

With the recent release of the Ford v. Ferrari movie, it brings Carroll Shelby’s Cobra back into the limelight and highlights the winding path Carroll had to navigate in securing and protecting the intellectual property rights associated with the iconic car.

As we look back at Shelby’s journey to protect the Cobra brand, many car enthusiasts would first bring up an old myth about whether or not Shelby bought the rights to the Cobra name for just a dollar. 

Carroll Shelby began his racing career in 1952, near the time that the Crosley Corporation, later known as Crosley Cars, was entering the sunset period of its reign.  Active from 1939 to 1952, Crosley was a small, independent American manufacturer of compact cars, some cars being so light and smart that they were considered microcars.

Even today, long after Crosley has faded into the past, car enthusiasts still revere the name Crosley, sponsoring a number of car clubs across the world.  Crosley fans enthusiastically note that Crosley was first to introduce many important features to American automobiles.  For example, Crosley has been credited with coining the term “Sports-Utility” back in 1947 as well as for being the first to introduce to the masses: overhead camshaft engines; disc brakes; and the first post-war sports car.  Notably, Crosley was also well known for its CoBra engine, which was originally developed for military use aboard PT boats and B-17 Flying Fortress bombers, and then later transformed for automobile use in 1946. 

As Crosley’s use of CoBra predated Shelby’s use by almost two decades, many assume that Crosley’s use influenced Shelby’s decision to name his iconic car the Cobra.  And as Shelby’s ascension into fame coincided with Crosley exit of the car scene, the timing further fueled rumors that Shelby was able to purchase the rights to the CoBra name for a mere dollar.

While Shelby himself has denied that Crosley’s use ever influenced him, stating that he found inspiration for the name from a dream instead, Crosley enthusiasts have decried this story as Shelby salesmanship.  Although both camps are unlikely to ever agree on where the inspiration ultimately came from, Shelby did admit that he did run into significant difficulty when he eventually tried to secure rights to the Cobra name.  

In his journey to secure the name, Shelby had to trace the Cobra name through 9 different companies that held some IP claim or other to the Cobra engine or name after Crosley disbanded. 

Read the full article here.

Click to read the previous Weekly IP Buzz on Thriving Attorney.

For more posts, see our Intellectual Property Law Blog.

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Darin M. Klemchuk is founder of Klemchuk LLP, a litigation, intellectual property, and transactional law firm located in Dallas, Texas. He also co-founded Project K, a charitable movement devoted to changing the world one random act of kindness at a time, and publishes Thriving Attorney, a blog dedicated to exploring the business of the practice of law, productivity and performance for attorneys, and other topics such as law firm leadership and management, law firm culture, and business development for attorneys.

Click to learn more about Darin M. Klemchuk's law practice as an intellectual property lawyer.