Sony sues Kevin Butler actor for being in another company’s ad

Claims “misappropriation, breach of contract and tortious interference with a contractual relationship.”

Tarryn van der BylOctober 8, 2012

Sony is suing Jerry Lambert, the actor who played a phony Sony executive Kevin Butler in a series of PS3 marketing ads, for appearing in a Bridgestone tyre ad that promotes a free Wii for customers. Wait, let me put that a bit more succinctly – Sony is suing an actor for being an actor.

According to the lawsuit, Lambert’s appearance in the ad constitutes “violations of the Lanham Act, misappropriation, breach of contract and tortious interference with a contractual relationship”. Bridgestone has removed the offending video from YouTube pending legal drama.

“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,” a Sony rep told VentureBeat. “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 tricky thing, of course, is that Lambert isn’t even playing the Kevin Butler character in the ad. The real problem here seems to be nothing more than that Lambert is in an ad that features a Nintendo console, gaaaaaasp. And playing Mario Kart, no less. Has he not heard of Gran Turismo 5 or something?