Jimi Hendrix ‘s brother and daughter have been found in contempt of court, after violating a ruling banning them from using the Hendrix name commercially.
The rights to Hendrix’s music, name and appearance are held by two affiliated companies, Experience Hendrix and Authentic Hendrix, created by the father of musician Al Hendrix in 1995. Since his death in 2002, the companies has been run by adoption daughter Al Janie Jinka.
The current controversy began in 2017, when musician Leon Hendrix’s brother was accused of using Hendrix’s name on products that “contain cannabis, edibles, food, wine, alcohol, ‘medicines,’ and electronic products ”. An order was made against him for $ 402,018; and an injunction was issued against him prohibiting him from using “the name ‘Jimi Hendrix’, the name ‘Jimi’, the name ‘Hendrix’, in any alteration ìomhaigh or the image, appearance or signature of Jimi Hendrix ”.
A judge in New York has now ruled that Leon, along with his daughter Tina Hendrix, violated that prohibition by running a nonprofit, tax-free music school, Hendrix Academy of Music. They have to remember any product with Hendrix’s name and appearance – Jimi-faced T-shirts were sold on her website – and the school renamed.
Leon Hendrix has to pay his opponents’ legal fees and the judge warned him that he is “carrying the prison keys in his own pocket” and cannot make further breaches.
Tina Hendrix criticized the ruling, telling Billboard: “This battle is not about money but the right to use my own birth name for charitable purposes… I am amazed that the courts have sided with the Hendrix Experience and removed us from our rights to use our own family surnames. “
Hendrix’s experience has not commented on the rule.
The controversy is the latest chapter in a long-running dispute between various members of the Hendrix family. Jimi Hendrix died without a will, and his property went to Al; when Al died in 2002, he left Leon nothing but one gold disc. Leon tried to reverse this to take control of a portion of Hendrix ‘s estate, but a judge ruled against it in 2004, allowing Jinka to continue as trustee.
The judge in that case also ruled against Jinka, however, finding that she had breached her duties as a trustee by failing to pay family members. She admits she made mistakes in the early years of managing the estate.
Under Jinka, Experience Hendrix holds tight to the rights of the musician: the company banned the 2013 biopic film Jimi: All Is By My Side, starring André 3000, from using any of the songs at Hendrix.
Fans are desperate for the company to release the 16-song collection Black Gold, written in 1970, the year he died. The demo recordings, with Hendrix singing over acoustic guitar, were given to his drummer Mitch Mitchell, who thought they were not a special copy and forgot about them. They were discovered in the 90s. In 2010 Jinka said they would have been released during that decade, but they never showed up.