Bridgestone facing lawsuit for Kevin Butler appearance

Bridgestone Americas is one of the defendants named in a lawsuit filed by Sony Computer Entertainment America. The tyre maker is in hot water along with Wildcat Creek, Inc – a company owned by actor Jerry Lambert – for using Sony-developed character Kevin Butler to sell non-Sony products.

In a statement, Sony Computer Entertainment America says the lawsuit it filed on 11 September is based on “violations of the Lanham Act, misappropriation, breach of contract and tortious interference with a contractual relationship.” The company adds that it “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 Kevin Butler persona was created by Sony to promote its PlayStation 3 in North America. In the Sony advertising campaigns, Butler stars as the vice-president of a number of fictitious departments within Sony’s PlayStation division of Sony, responding to “Dear PlayStation” queries. Earlier this year, Lambert played a Kevin Butler-like role in a number of Bridgestone commercials. What really pulls Sony chain is that he appeared in the ads along with a Nintendo Wii.