Sony Sues Kevin Butler and His Advertising Firm
VP of Playing Mario Kart Wii gets busted.
It seems that Kevin Butler has just been promoted to VP of Getting Sued by Sony. The PlayStation company has set the legal sharks onto advertising firm Wildcat Creek for using a copy of the character in one of its campaigns. Wildcat Creek's president, funnily enough, is none other than Kevin Butler himself - actor Jerry Lambert.
The particular advertising campaign that Sony takes issue with is for Bridgestone Tires, which features a character that appears to mimic the Kevin Butler character playing Mario Kart Wii. The commercial is intended to highlight a Wii giveaway promotion - but Sony contests that Lambert, who appeared in the original advert, has crossed the line.
"Sony Computer Entertainment America filed a lawsuit against Bridgestone and Wildcat Creek, Inc on September 11th," said SCEA's senior director of corporate communications Dan Race to VentureBeat. "The claims are based on violations of the Lanham Act, misappropriation, breach of contract and tortious interference with a contractual relationship.
"We invested significant resources in bringing the Kevin Butler character to life and he’s become an iconic personality directly associated with PlayStation products over the years. Use of the Kevin Butler character to sell products other than those from PlayStation misappropriates Sony’s intellectual property, creates confusion in the market, and causes damage to Sony."
The Bridgestone Tires commercial has since been edited to remove Lambert from sight.
The particular advertising campaign that Sony takes issue with is for Bridgestone Tires, which features a character that appears to mimic the Kevin Butler character playing Mario Kart Wii. The commercial is intended to highlight a Wii giveaway promotion - but Sony contests that Lambert, who appeared in the original advert, has crossed the line.
"Sony Computer Entertainment America filed a lawsuit against Bridgestone and Wildcat Creek, Inc on September 11th," said SCEA's senior director of corporate communications Dan Race to VentureBeat. "The claims are based on violations of the Lanham Act, misappropriation, breach of contract and tortious interference with a contractual relationship.
"We invested significant resources in bringing the Kevin Butler character to life and he’s become an iconic personality directly associated with PlayStation products over the years. Use of the Kevin Butler character to sell products other than those from PlayStation misappropriates Sony’s intellectual property, creates confusion in the market, and causes damage to Sony."
The Bridgestone Tires commercial has since been edited to remove Lambert from sight.
Companies:
Sony
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