Sony recently sued Bridgestone and Jerry Lambert’s ad agency for “damages” and trying to confuse customers as Lambert’s Kevin Butler portrayal was an iconic thing for the Playstation brand.

Bridgestone has denied that Kevin Butler was in the commercial and have simply said that only Jerry Lambert played the role of a Bridgestone engineer there. I know some of you must be going “lol what” upon hearing this, but that’s how lawyers work. Scary, isn’t it?

“Mr. Lambert is one of the actors who appeared in the commercial as a Bridgestone engineer,” read the Bridgestone statement (Via The Hollywood Reporter. “Bridgestone denies that ‘Kevin Butler’ appears in the Bridgestone commercial discussed herein and thus denies that he speaks or does anything whatsoever in the commercial.”

So now it’s Sony’s turn. But it would be wise to drop this petty suit altogether, because it does no one any good. Sony’s reason for suing was this: “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.”

Thanks, Eurogamer.

Just when you thought interesting news were drying up, it has been revealed that Sony has sued Kevin Butler –the guy who started the marketing blitz when the $299 Slim was launched in 2009 – over advertising for a tire company – Bridgestone.

There was a specific advertisement by Bridgestone called GameOn where you could win a Nintendo Wii and a $70 American Express card on purchase of a set of tires.

Back to school, back to sports, back to life. Fall is busy, get ready with a set of new Bridestone tires and a little something in return. For a limited time, get a $70 American Express Reward Card or Wii system when you purchase a set of four eligible Bridgestone tires. Offer valid August 27 – September 30, 2012.

The commercial for this has been removed but it featured Jerry Lambert (Kevin Butler). They are also suing the advertising company who created this commercial – Wildcat Creek, Inc.

Oh well… You can check out the court documents below. They are suing for intellectual property infringement. That’s right, for Kevin Butler.

Plaintiff: Sony Computer Entertainment America LLC
Defendants: Bridgestone Americas, Inc. and Wildcat Creek, Inc.

Case Number: 3:2012cv04753
Filed: September 11, 2012

Court: California Northern District Court
Office: San Francisco Office
County: San Mateo
Presiding Judge: Laurel Beeler

Nature of Suit: Intellectual Property – Trademark
Cause: 15:1125 Trademark Infringement (Lanham Act)
Jurisdiction: Federal Question
Jury Demanded By: Plaintiff

Summary | Court filing 1 | Court filing 2 (via GAF)