It was bound to happen sooner or later: Godzilla trademark owners Toho Ltd. sent out a cease and desist letter claiming that the Davezilla name and logo infringe upon their trademark:
...use of the "ZILLA" formative along with imagery associated with GODZILLA is likely to cause the users of your site to believe that the "DAVEZILLA.COM" website is either associated with, authorized by, or sponsored by our client, and demonstrates an attempt by you to trade on the goodwill built up by our client.
Fortunately, clueful media outlets have picked up on the story allowing for the general public to learn that:
As noted in the article:
One legal analyst said Toho was picking on a tiny opponent because prior battles with companies closer to its own size had ended in defeat. He cited a case in which Toho took Sears to court for its "Bagzilla" garbage cans, to no avail.
"I think it's an example of a trademark owner looking for a small, relatively innocuous player to make an example of," said Eric Goldman, assistant professor at Marquette University Law School in Milwaukee, Wis.... Goldman also noted that because Davezilla isn't actually selling anything on his site, Toho's attorneys would be hard-pressed to demonstrate that Davezilla was creating confusion in a marketplace.
Chalk this one up as a victory for Mothra.
Posted by wasylik at August 15, 2002 12:49 AM