Toyota Didn’t Ask to Use Murals in Lexus Car Ads, Artists Say

Toyota Motor Corp. didn’t have the right to use popular urban murals as backdrops in a 2018 ad campaign for one of its newest Lexus cars, a group of artists said Dec. 4.

Toyota infringed five artists’ copyrights because it didn’t have permission to use the murals in ads for its 2019 Lexus UX, according to the complaint.

The advertisements featured Lexus cars in front of three murals on urban buildings in Long Beach, Calif., the complaint said. Lexus shot the campaign "[w]ithout obtaining or even seeking any permission or authorization” from the artists, according to the complaint. ...