Jazz legend Duke Ellington’s image is being used illegally and his family is pissed.
Ellington’s grandson has filed a federal lawsuit in New York, claiming the people who introduced a liqueur called “Duke Ellington XO Cognac” in 2006 never got the proper permission to use Duke’s name and signature on their product.
In the lawsuit, the Ellington estate claims the company “once attempted to negotiate with [the estate] … but no agreement was ever reached between the parties.”
Ellington wants the liquor company to stop selling the cognac and hand over the profits. The cognac sells for $150 a bottle.
