Legal Issues

Legal Issues

by Mike Masnick


Filed Under:
alexus winston, lexus, moron in a hurry, nude models, trademark

Companies:
toyota



Can A Moron In A Hurry Tell The Difference Between A Nude Model And A Car?

from the I-would-hope-so dept

An anonymous reader sends in word of yet another highly questionable trademark infringement lawsuit, as Toyota, makers of Lexus vehicles has filed a lawsuit against a nude model, who goes by the name Alexus Winston (link is probably NSFW, depending on your work environment). As the folks at Fleshbot note: "Lexus is a line of luxury automobiles put out by Toyota. Alexus Winston is a naked model." Anyone want to volunteer to be the moron in a hurry to prove that it's rather easy to tell the difference between the two?

28 Comments | Leave a Comment..

 
 

Reader Comments (rss)

(Flattened / Threaded)

  1. Oct 8th, 2008 @ 11:52am

    What's the hurry?

    by Jeff Rife

    I would like to take some time to examine this issue in detail to determine if there is infringement.

    I'll need one of each model of Lexus automobile, and the lady in question.

    I'll get back to you in a few weeks.

    (reply to this comment) (link to this comment)

  2. Oct 8th, 2008 @ 11:56am
    by Anonymous Coward

    Well, I *would* like to ride in both of them....


    HA!

    Thank you, I'm here all week. Tip your waitress, and thank the chef.

    (reply to this comment) (link to this comment)

  3. Oct 8th, 2008 @ 12:21pm
    by You never know

    Oh! Oh! Me! Me! I'll do it LOL.

    (reply to this comment) (link to this comment)

  4. Oct 8th, 2008 @ 12:33pm

    I am totally available for this task!!

    by Atoyota Moron

    Although, I am pretty sure the task will require quite a bit of research into other models to make sure that no nude model could ever be mistaken for a luxery car...which means I will probably need a Lexus to compare against the models.

    (reply to this comment) (link to this comment)

  5. Oct 8th, 2008 @ 12:34pm

    OH MAN

    Okay, this tops the laugh factor on the previous article. HAHAHA. I

    (reply to this comment) (link to this comment)

  6. Oct 8th, 2008 @ 12:48pm

    One big similarity

    by danimal

    One big similarity...I can't afford either of them.

    (reply to this comment) (link to this comment)

  7. Oct 8th, 2008 @ 12:55pm

    poke

    by guy one

    ill drive that lexus... but i dont like to poke glasses of water.

    (reply to this comment) (link to this comment)

  8. Oct 8th, 2008 @ 12:56pm
    by KJ

    Clearly the lawyers did this just to see if they could get her in a courtroom with them (especially since the defendant would have to provide full disclosure of their "evidence" to the plaintiff)

    (reply to this comment) (link to this comment)

  9. Oct 8th, 2008 @ 12:58pm
    by Anonymous Coward

    I once had a roomate named, "Alexus" whom everyone just called, "Lexi", for short.

    But back on story, will Toyota also sue "Lexus Locklear", http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0516911/
    She can be seen in prize winning films, such as "Debbie Does Dallas '99" aka, "Debbie Does Dallas: The Next Generation".

    And what about "Lexi Belle", will Toyota also go after her too?

    (reply to this comment) (link to this comment)

  10. Oct 8th, 2008 @ 1:03pm

    More for Toyota to Sue

    by Kevin Stapp

    Clearly Toyota isn't suing nearly enough 'infringers'

    http://alexussteakhouse.com/
    http://web.mac.com/alexus309/AlexusSheppard/Welcome.ht ml
    http://alexus.biz/
    http://www.alexusconsulting.com/

    (reply to this comment) (link to this comment)

  11. Oct 8th, 2008 @ 1:05pm

    Hmph

    by Shohat

    Ah, the things I'd do to that car...

    (reply to this comment) (link to this comment)

  12. Oct 8th, 2008 @ 1:21pm

    Nude model

    by J

    These guys should hire me to go to every strip joint in Texas to understand the real depth of the issue

    (reply to this comment) (link to this comment)

  13. Oct 8th, 2008 @ 1:22pm
    by Anonymous Coward

    great, another corporate entity thinking with it's lawyer organ too much.

    (reply to this comment) (link to this comment)

  14. Oct 8th, 2008 @ 1:22pm

    This...is...absolutely...ridiculous.

    Wow.

    Speechless. WTG Toyota. You've really outdown yourselves this time.

    (reply to this comment) (link to this comment)

  15. Oct 8th, 2008 @ 1:25pm

    You should take all those links

    by Bob

    Send them to Toyota and Lexus.

    Either that or file a "friend of the court" brief to show that Lexus is using "Selective Enforcement" to make the woman change her stage name, and I do doubt it's her real name :)

    (reply to this comment) (link to this comment)

  16. Oct 8th, 2008 @ 1:30pm

    Judicial Scrutiny

    by Mark Regan

    A bit of Judicial Scrutiny is in order. And an Order is hereby Entered Requiring that Depositions be taken in chambers.

    Since, by definition, nudity implies she is "thong-less". It is therefore Ordered that the RIAA shall not be accepted as Plaintiff in this case, on grounds their claim would be valid only if she sang a "thong", which she did not.

    Has she been checked by Alexis.com to ensure she does not have their Toolbar Tracker installed in her browser, which might be a copyright violation? By the way, the Court will need to make a further inquiry to identify the exact location of her browser. Bailiff, please escort the Defendant to Chambers immediately so that this examination may commence. Discovery could take an extraordinary amount of time, so this case is continued.

    (reply to this comment) (link to this comment)

  17. Oct 8th, 2008 @ 1:50pm

    Re: Judicial Scrutiny

    by CVPunk

    Oh come on now... you know it will only take a minute.

    (reply to this comment) (link to this comment)

  18. Oct 8th, 2008 @ 2:05pm
    by Anonymous Coward

    I was wondering why them headlights had nipples!

    (reply to this comment) (link to this comment)

  19. Oct 8th, 2008 @ 2:31pm
    by Anonymous Coward

    Someone should let Daimler AG know about this, I'm sure there are some strippers/pron-stars that go by the name Mercedes.

    (reply to this comment) (link to this comment)

  20. Oct 8th, 2008 @ 2:35pm

    moron in a hurry says:

    by tom

    For a split-second, but only for a split-second I thought I saw an expensive vehicle with a nice rack.

    (reply to this comment) (link to this comment)

  21. Oct 8th, 2008 @ 3:39pm
    by Anonymous Coward

    well, she does seem to have the high beams on.......

    (reply to this comment) (link to this comment)

  22. Oct 8th, 2008 @ 3:40pm
    by Anonymous Coward

    I'd like to cross-examine the witness.

    (reply to this comment) (link to this comment)

  23. Oct 8th, 2008 @ 5:28pm

    Re:

    by Anonymous Coward

    lol

    simple, yet brilliant

    9/10

    (reply to this comment) (link to this comment)

  24. Oct 8th, 2008 @ 5:38pm

    Re:

    by Dosquatch

    Well-built, stylish, holds her value well... OK, fine, I can see how Toyota could be confused ;-)

    (reply to this comment) (link to this comment)

  25. Oct 8th, 2008 @ 9:02pm

    Toyota should be careful

    by John

    I'm no lawyer, but the Lexus logo looks awfully close to the Legion of Super-Heroes logo, which is owned by DC Comics... which is owned by Time Warner. Does Toyota really want to mess with Time Warner in these kinds of lawsuits?

    To be honest, as a comic book fan, I always wondered why Toyota put the Legion's logo at the end of some of their car commercials. ;)

    Lexus logo:
    http://www.care2.com/c2c/share/detail/808440

    Legion of Super-Heroes logo:
    http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/covers/dc/dcu/loshv2_12.jpg

    (reply to this comment) (link to this comment)

  26. Oct 9th, 2008 @ 6:08am

    I'm fairly busy but I guess I could volunteer

    by Scott Everard

    I'll take one for the team.

    (reply to this comment) (link to this comment)

  27. Oct 9th, 2008 @ 10:02am
    by Anon Cow

    Actually, it is quite easy to confuse the too. The model has boobs and Toyota's legal counsel are boobs.

    (reply to this comment) (link to this comment)

  28. Oct 10th, 2008 @ 9:02am

    Class-Action Lawsuit

    by Not A Lexus

    I think that all those individuals with a parental given name of "Alexis", "Alexus" and "Lexus" or "Lexi" should form a class-action lawsuit against Toyota for choosing to name the car with the same name as they're entitled to, given the obvious confusion that can arise in normal day-to-day conversation.

    Think of the defamation that can arise, and the damage to a person that can arise from a simple water-cooler comment like a guy taking his Lexus out for a "drive" and the listener relating that to a secretary in the same office!

    Oh, the shame!
    They need to rise up and defend their names!

    (if for no other reason than to prove how stupid this all is...)

    Then, take this to the Vancouver Olympic Committee (VanOC) and slap them in the face for the h*ll they're giving Vancouver, BC businesses for referring to "Olympic" or "2010" without paying royalties...

    (reply to this comment) (link to this comment)

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