A poster over at NeoGAF has uncovered court documents indicating that Sony is in fact suing its very own “VP of Everything” Kevin Butler. The suit is against both Bridgestone and Wildcat Creek Inc., a company owned by Jerry Lambert, the actor who portrays the fictional Kevin Butler in Sony’s ad campaigns. More details regarding the suit are included after the jump.
The lawsuit was filed on September 11th, and concerns an ad for Bridgestone in which Lambert can be seen playing a Nintendo Wii game, and presents himself in a manner quite similar to his character in the Playstation ads. Speaking to Venturebeat, Sony confirmed the suit and stated that is based on “violations of the Lanham Act, misappropriation, breach of contract and tortious interference with a contractual relationship.” It was added that Sony has “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.”
Bridgestone has since pulled some of the ads, and it is unclear whether the lawsuit will actually be making its way to court at this time. No official statement on the matter has yet been made by Lambert.