Godzilla's owners, Toho Co., Ltd., has dispatched their lawyers against a Maine eatery called "Grill Zilla BBQ," claiming trademark infringement. The offending logo is at right.
According to The Kennebec Journal of Augusta, Maine:
Getting a certified letter from a lawyer is rarely a pleasant experience. But when the lawyer represents Godzilla, well, you know you're in big, big trouble.
"I don't want to hire lawyers. But I am ready to call their bluff," said Sarah Burnham. "I mean do they really want to take this fight on? Do they really want to sue us?"
Apparently so. And here's why.
For the past five years, Burnham and her husband, Jay Swett, have owned and operated a thriving lunch-and-dinner stand out of an old Frito-Lay delivery truck on U.S. Route 1 just north of picturesque downtown Damariscotta.
Its name: Grill Zilla BBQ.
Its motto: "So good it's SCARY!"
Its logo: A smiling green creature with a red apron who, the way Burnham sees him, is part dinosaur, part alligator and part dragon. Or, as Swett sees him, "Tyrannosaurus rex on steroids."
Either way, the lawyers for Toho Co. Ltd., a Japanese entertainment conglomerate that owns the rights to the 56-year-old movie icon Godzilla, recently took a long look at Grill Zilla BBQ and saw trademark infringement.
To me, the logo bears no resemblance to Godzilla.
To read the full story, go here.
1 comment:
I AM A HUGE FAN,SUPPORTER OF TOHO & GODZILLA FILMS, GENRE AND THE LIKE....
...BUT, I HAVE TO ADMIT, THAT TOHO CO. SEEMS TO BE QUITE GREEDY AND DESPERATE. ESPECIALLY OVER THIS RESTAURANT.
TOHO DOES NOT OWN THE COPYRIGHT OF THE IMAGE OF A DRAGON, AN ALLIGATOR OR ANY DINOSAURS. THEY CERTAINLY DID NOT INVENT THE IDEA OF MONSTERS BEING CREATED BY RADIATION OR ATOMIC EVERGY.
THEIR ORIGINAL GODZILLA MOVIE WAS CALLED "GOJIRA". NOT GODZILLA. THE JAPANESE LANGUAGE DOES NOT EVEN HAVE A LETTER "Z".
GODZILLA WAS NOT GREEN !!!!!! DID NOT HAVE A DRAGON SNOUT W/ FLARED NOSTRILS LIKE THE "DRAGON" IN THE RESTAURANTS LOGO.
IN FACT, TOHO CO. ITSELF IS QUITE QUILTY OF STEALING MANY OF THEIR IDEAS FROM AMERICAN FILMS AND CARTOONS.
THE ORIGINAL GODZILLA, WAS ADMITTEDLY INSPIRED BY "THE BEAST OF 20,000 FATHOMS"...AND BORRORWD VERY HEAVILY FROM THE 1940'S MAX FLEISCHER "SUPERMAN" CARTOON "THE ARTIC GIANT" !!! ALMOST SCENE BY SCENE, AS THE EXTREMELY GIANT T-REX STYLE MONSTER SMASHES THRU THE CITY OF METROPOLIS. ENCOUNTERING TRAINS, TANKS, SOLDIERS, ETC.....
THEIR RECENT EXAMPLES OF GODZILLA MOVIES, USING , AGAIN, ALMOST SCENE BY SCENE SIMILARITY TO FILMS LIKE "MATRIX", ETC, IS VERY OBVIOUS.
FOR THEM TO GO AFTER A SMALL TOWN RESTAURANT, IS REDICULOUS. THEY'RE LUCKY THAT THEY'RE EVEN STILL IN EXISTENCE AFTER THE LAST 20 YEARS OF BADLY DONE MOVIES, REDICULOUS STORY LINES, AND REPEATED LAWSUITS AGAINST ANYONE WHO IS EVEN SLIGHTLY INFLUENCE OR INSPIRED BY THEIR MOVIES.
I LOVE GODZILLA, BUT I DESPISE GREEDY THIEVES, WHO THINK THEY INVENTED "THE GIANT MONSTER"
WAIT TIL THE SEE THE UPCOMING "MONSTER MADHOUSE" MOVIE. THEY'RE GONNA POOP THEIR PANTS, AND TRIP OVER THEMSELVES TRYING TO SUE US !!!
TOHO DID NOT INVENT GIANT MONSTERS, DINOSAURS , DRAGONS....OR THE ATOMIC BOMB.
IT HINK THAT DC COMICS SHOULS SUE TOHO, FOR ALMOST SCENE BY SCENE , STEALING FORM THE SUPERMAN CARTOON. OR MAYBE THE CHINESE EMBASSY SHOULD SUE TOHO FOR STEALING THE "CHINESE DRAGON" AS SEEN IN THEIR CULTURAL ARTWORK FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS.
COME ON TOHO...HANG IT UP. STOP MAKING YER'SELBES LOOK LIKE GREEDY, SEEDY, THIEVING KNOCK OFF ARTISTS. THE WORLD OWES YOU NOTHING THAT YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY BEEN GIVEN, TOHO IS ACTING AS IF THEY DON'T WANT "ANYONE" TO EVEN SEE THEIR "CLASSIC" MOVIES...THEY'RE UNDER LOCK AND KEY. FORBIDDEN TO BE AIRED ON TELEVISION. A MODERN,, NEW GENERATION OF "MONSTER KIDS" WILL NEVER, EVER, EVER SEE MOVIES LIKE "YOG, MONSTER FROM SPACE", "WAR OF THE GARGANTUAS", "MONSTER ZERO" OR DESTROY ALL MONSTERS", BECAUSE TOHO IS CLUELESS AS TO HOW TO SHARE THEIR IMAGES, PROMOTE THEM, OR PRESENT THEM.
WHAT THE HELL MADE GODZILLA A HOUSHOLD NAME ?? AMERICA DID. AMERICA'S MOVIE WATCHING KIDS DID.
...MAYBE TOHO WOULD PREFER THAT EVERYONE IN THE WORLD WOULD JUST "FORGET" ABOUT GODZILLA, THE MOVIES AND THEIR PRESCIOUS "TRADEMARK"....IT'S NOT FAR OFF FROM HAPPENING.
PHOOEY, TOHO...YOU'RE AN INSULT TO YOUR OWN LEGACY !!
"FAMOUS TV MONSTER HUNTER"
USA
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