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Godzilla may breathe fire, but he still needs a lawyer

A float in a 1991 parade launched a lucrative legal relationship for Chuck Shepard, who may not be able to breathe fire and crunch cities with a stomp of his foot but nonetheless has skills that are much-needed by an iconic monster.

As the lead lawyer protecting the Gozilla brand, the Greenberg Glusker attorney successfully litigated against Honda America over an unlicensed image of the monster seemingly strolling down the street, as well as the Tuffzilla toy dog and a 1999 album by Pharoahe Monch that used Godzilla’s theme music, the Associated Press reports.

Often joining him on cases is Aaron Moss of Century City, California. While the two do not hesitate to litigate on behalf of Toho Co. Ltd. when Godzilla suffers a copyright or trademark infringement, “Toho is not out there to extract a pound of flesh,’’ Moss said. ‘‘They need to protect their brand.’’

The two typically send a cease-and-desist letter initially, and the Toho company is willing to license Godzilla rights, the article points out. It isn’t, however, willing to see others make use of the 60-year-old monster’s iconic image for free.

See also:

ABAJournal.com: “Seyfarth Lawyer Warns Take-Out Stand About ‘Lizard-Like’ Monsters”