Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. was founded in 1955, is the second largest manufacturer of motorcycles and ATVs in the world and enjoys an international reputation for selling unique, high-quality products. Based in Cypress, CA, its wholly-owned subsidiary, Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A., distributes motorcycles, ATVs, snowmobiles, golf carts, outboard engines and water vehicles all under the Yamaha® brand name. Yamaha owns and holds trademark rights in connection with the shape, style and overall appearance of Yamaha’s Raptor™ line of ATVs and its TT-R125 line of off-road motorcycles. Many of Yamaha’s ATVs are manufactured at its plant in Newnan, Georgia.

Yamaha alleges in its Complaint that Yamoto entered the United States market in 2003 by advertising, promoting and offering for sale the Yamoto line of ATVs and off-road motorcycles, which are of lower quality but bear strikingly similar resemblances to Yamaha’s Raptor™ line of ATVs and its TT-R125 line of off-road motorcycles. Yamaha states in its Complaint, for example, that the Yamaha® Raptor™ 50 ATV and the Yamoto 70 ATV are so similar that the poorer quality parts on the Yamoto copy are interchangeable with the parts on the Yamaha®. Yamaha further alleges that Yamoto not only attempted to confuse the public through the adoption of names, logos, colors and appearances that are confusingly similar to Yamaha’s, but also by copying Yamaha’s website, using a web address almost identical to Yamaha’s web address and failing to disclose the Chinese origin of the Yamoto products in violation of United States law. Yamaha claims that the distribution of these products is an obvious and deliberate attempt to trade off of Yamaha’s reputation and goodwill in the industry.

“For over 50 years, Yamaha has invested serious money into researching, developing and promoting its brand of motorcycles and ATVs and can rightfully claim pride in its reputation for quality and innovation,” stated Russell D. Jura, General Counsel for Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A. “Consumers have come to associate the Yamaha brand with superior, reliable products.

Yet, the Defendants are trying to undermine and sabotage our hard-earned reputation by deliberately copying our products, from body design and shape to customized logos, in an attempt to confuse the public and sell them inferior products.”

“Yamaha, not Yamoto, holds the appropriate trademark egistrations for all of its products,” explained Jura. “Our distributors, wholesalers, retailers and customers know that they can always expect quality from us.

Yamoto’s imitation of our products has been fraudulent and deceptive from day one, and this is simply unacceptable to us, and that’s why we will assert our legal rights against anyone knocking off what is rightfully ours.”