Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. v. Tabari

610 F.3d 1171 (9th Cir. 2010)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

Ds are auto brokers. They contact authorized dealers, solicit bids and arrange for customers to buy from the dealer offering the best combination of location, availability, and price. Auto manufacturers and dealers aren't so keen on this service, as it undermines dealers' territorial exclusivity and lowers profit margins. Ds offered this service at buy-a-lexus.com and buyorleaselexus.com. P is the exclusive distributor of Lexus vehicles in the United States. P spends over $250 million every year promoting the Lexus brand. P objected to D's use on their website of copyrighted photography of Lexus vehicles and the circular 'L Symbol Design mark.' Toyota also took umbrage to the use of the string 'lexus' in their domain names, which it believed was 'likely to cause confusion as to the source of the D web site.' D removed P's photography and logo from their site and added a disclaimer in large font at the top. They refused to give up their domain names. P sued, and the district court found infringement after a bench trial. It ordered D to cease using their domain names and enjoined them from using the Lexus mark in any other domain name. D appealed.