Kevin Butler finds himself in a bit of trouble with his employer, or well, actor Jerry Lambert does as he has appeared in a Bridgestone commercial playing Wii and Mario Kart Wii. Sony has sued Lambert's production company Wildcat Creek and Bridgestone for infringement on the Kevin Butler character (an intellectual property of Sony).
VentureBeat who reported on the story after it broke on NeoGAF has posted the following Sony statement on the matter:
"Sony Computer Entertainment America filed a lawsuit against Bridgestone and Wildcat Creek, Inc. on September 11. The claims are based on violations of the Lanham Act, misappropriation, breach of contract and tortious interference with a contractual relationship. 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."
The commercial in which Lambert appears wearing a white lab coat playing Mario Kart has been removed from Bridgestone's Youtube channel, and while it's likely that the matter will be settled out of court it does seem hard to imagine Sony going back to using Jerry Lambert and Kevin Butler for promotional purposes.