NATION : Court Lets Toyota Retain Its Lexus Nameplate . . . at Least for a While

A federal appeals court today spared Toyota Motor Corp. from an embarrassing scramble to mask the nameplates on its new Lexus brand of luxury cars premiering at a major auto show, but said the Japanese auto maker cannot advertise the brand nationally until a trademark dispute is settled.

The bench ruling by the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals in New York came as Toyota unveiled its Lexus line for reporters at the North American Auto Show in Detroit, which opens to the public Saturday.

Company officials had nervously wondered whether they would have to cover up the names of the cars at their swank display booth. The Lexus controversy stemmed from a lawsuit filed against Toyota by Mead Data Central Inc., which provides a computerized legal information retrieval service that uses the name Lexis.