Godzilla's Trademark Wrath Of Destruction

By Eriq Gardner

Who could possibly be more litigious than the lawyers who stopped the city of Louisville from holding a Dr. Seuss holiday celebration?

Wired's Threat Level gives one possible nomination: Godzilla's lawyers.

Earlier this year, we noted that Toho Co., the Japanese company that owns the trademark and copyright rights to Godzilla, sued sandwich chain Subway over an allegedly infringing advertising campaign. (The dispute was settled.) Toho has been up to a lot more recently, including attacks on Napa Valley wineries, Yankee Stadium vendors, bloggers, book publishers and this month, a rock band called Asshole Godzilla.

Still, many in the entertainment community may envy the licensing success enjoyed by Toho. It reported about $66 million in profits from licensing Godzilla just in the first half of this year.

Wired identifies the company's U.S. trademark counsel as Aaron Moss and Charles Shephard at Greenberg Glusker in Los Angeles. Shepard apparently has a poster in his office that says,"If you thought Godzilla was scary, wait until you meet his lawyers."