Godzilla's Lawyers Fight Back

An interesting article on the "army of lawyers" that Toho Co., Ltd. dispatches to protect their rights to the Godzilla character has been posted.

The article reads in part:

It's been 54 years since an atomic blast awakened the slumbering reptilian monster Godzilla, and the fire-breathing, fin-tailed beast has been terrorizing downtown Tokyo ever since — in more than two dozen movies, on television and in comics and cartoons.

But Godzilla is a pussycat compared to the coterie of lawyers and investigators in Los Angeles and Japan who aggressively protect the radioactive behemoth from anyone who dares to appropriate his lizardly image for profit.

Hurling hundreds of lawsuits and takedown notices like so many fireballs, Godzilla's owner — Toho Co. Ltd — has roasted Hollywood studios, automakers, toy manufacturers, rock bands, book publishers, national food chains, record labels, bloggers, wineries and just about anybody seen as capitalizing on the monster's unique features, name or theme music. When it comes to policing trademarks and enforcing copyrights in the United States, intellectual property attorneys say Tokyo-based Toho is easily a match for Walt Disney, Fox and Lucasfilm in terms of courthouse zeal.

To read the full article, go here.

G-FAN magazine, which I am a contributing writer for, is permitted to use Godzilla's image under the fair use law.

The fair use law is as follows:

TITLE 17 - UNITED STATES CODE - SECTION 107:

"Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 and 106A, the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright. In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include:

1 the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;
2 the nature of the copyrighted work;
3 the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and
4 the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work. The fact that a work is unpublished shall not itself bar a finding of fair use if such finding is made upon consideration of all the above factors."

Additionally, G-FAN (i.e., Daikaiju Enterprises, Ltd.) and Toho has an informal, unofficial relationship in which each side cooperates with the other. I have conducted G-FAN and G-FEST business with Toho although Toho's official policy is not to recognize fan organizations, activities or publications. This has been the case for the past several years. Recently, I arranged to have a letter of congratulations from Toho Pictures, Inc. president Shogo Tomiyama to be sent to Haruo Nakajima for his receiving the Mangled Skyscraper Award. G-FEST rents films from Toho annually for screenings at the convention.