Use of Lexus mark in broker’s domain name is fair use
21 July 2010
Fionn O'Raghallaigh, Los Angeles
In a decision that could have far-reaching implications, a California court has declared that a car broker’s use of the mark Lexus in two domains is nominative fair use
In a dispute between Toyota Motor Sales and the auto brokers Farzad Tabari and Lisa Tabari, the car manufacturer alleged that the Tabaris' use online of copyrighted photography of Lexus vehicles and its circular L symbol design mark as well as the use of "lexus" in their domain names was "likely to cause confusion as to the source of [the Tabaris'] web site".
The Tabaris own the domains buy-a-lexus.com and buyorleaselexus.com....
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