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1998 cease and desist order filed against Texas restaurant Mangia Pizza for the "Mangiazilla" mascot, apparently later renamed Mangiasaurus Rex (Newspapers)
Settlement information if possible:
Five Dollar Footlong ad
Comcast Town ad
"Simon Says" sampling
TBA
Original Fingerzilla imagery
This article is a list of legal actions that Toho has exerted on companies they believe have infringed on its rights to the Godzilla franchise, organized by medium type and listed in chronological order.
Films
After the ultimately-unrealized spoof film It Ate Cleveland was retitled Godzilla vs. Cleveland, Toho threatened to file a lawsuit against The Cannon Group, Inc., forcing the company to revert the title change and the film to be put on hiatus for a few years.[1][2]
In the 1985 film Pee-Wee's Big Adventure, one of the movie sets Pee-wee crashes while escaping with his bike at Warner Bros. Studios depicts Godzilla battling King Ghidorah. Warner Bros., reportedly unaware of requiring permission from Toho to use Godzilla, was sued by the company, eventually paying them an undisclosed amount.[3]
Voltage Pictures was sued by Toho in 2015 over accusations that the filmmakers of their then in-production film, Colossal, frequently referenced Godzilla when discussing the film (e.g. describing the film as a "cross between Godzilla and Being John Malkovich.", even calling it "a Godzilla film" in interviews) in addition to using the design and characteristics of Godzilla without permission in their marketing for the film.[4] The lawsuit was settled that October, and a producer on the film clarified that the film was not a remake of a Godzilla movie.[5]
Food and drink
(Mangia Pizza cease and desist)
In 2002, Toho sued Adler Fels Winery for allegations that the company had used Godzilla for their Cabzilla wine without their permission. A legal settlement forced Adler Fels to destroy its inventory of the wine.[3]
In April 2008, Toho sued Doctor's Associates, Inc., the parent company of fast food chain Subway, alleging that a scene where a giant reptilian monster attacks an Asian city in a TV commercial part of the "Five Dollar Footlong" promotion infringed on their copyrights on Godzilla.[6]
In 2013, Toho sued the New Orleans Lager & Ale Brewing Company (NOLA Brewing) over their beer line "MechaHopzilla", arguing that the name and design of a robotic, reptilian monster depicted on the can constituted infringement of their trademark to Mechagodzilla.[7][8] In 2014, Toho settled with NOLA, with the agreement requiring the brewery to retire the name and designs used by the end of 2014.[9] The beer was renamed "Mecha", and the monster redesigned to remove any resemblance to Mechagodzilla[10]
Video games
In 2011, Toho sent a cease and desist order to American mobile game developer Inert Soap, arguing that the imagery used in the icon and website for one of their games, Fingerzilla, made unauthorized use of Godzilla and could confuse players into thinking that the game was officially endorsed by Toho. The original version of the aforementioned imagery featured a pointing finger with Godzilla's head and spines, the latter feature later being removed.[11][12]
In 2024, Toho sent DMCA takedown requests to various Roblox fan games that were using the Godzilla license without their permission, including popular games such as Kaiju Universe.[13]
Miscellaneous
In 1991, Toho filed a lawsuit against the American Honda Motor Company for a float depicting a dressed-up Godzilla that was displayed during that year's Rose Parade. Despite advertisements and a memo referring to the monster by name, Honda denied that it was really Godzilla, but eventually settled with Toho for an undisclosed amount.[14]
In 1996, Toho sent a cease and desist order to Marvel Comics after they included a robot Godzilla which too closely resembled the genuine article on the cover of The Amazing Spider-Man #413, forcing them to change the front cover's artwork on all future reprints of the issue.[15]
In 2001, Toho sued U.S. rapper Pharoahe Monch for the unauthorized sampling of the opening notes of Akira Ifukube's "Godzilla's Theme" from Mothra vs. Godzilla for the song "Simon Says" from his debut album Internal Affairs.[16]
On March 5, 2009, Toho sent a cease and desist to American communications company Comcast and advertising agency Goodby, Silverstein & Partners for including Godzilla without authorization in an advertisement that was part of the "Comcast Town" advertising campaign. The advertisement depicted Godzilla fighting a giant alien robot in addition to two toys of both fighting, and the interactive website for the campaign featured television screens with the monster that users could decorate a room with. Despite the threat of legal action and promising to pull the advertisement by April 11, Comcast would reportedly continue running the offending advertisement as late as that May, leading to Toho to sue them and Goodby in August that year.[17]
MechaHopzilla beer can art, with a Mechagodzilla-like monster depicted on it
Voltage Picture's pitch for the film Colossal, featuring a picture of Godzilla and directly referring to Godzilla in its synopsis
Concept poster for Colossal, featuring the outline of Godzilla on it
Concept poster for Colossal, using a picture of Godzilla on it
Videos
Pee-wee's Big Adventure scene
Subway Five Dollar Footlong ad
Comcast Town advertisement
References
This is a list of references for GodOfOdo/sandbox. These citations are used to identify the reliable sources on which this article is based. These references appear inside articles in the form of superscript numbers, which look like this: [1]
↑Jacobs, Jill Ann (April 19, 2011). "Re: FINGERZILLA". Seyfarth Shaw LLP. Archived from the original on January 1, 2017. Retrieved July 22, 2025 - via WIRED.
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Promo artwork for Godzilla vs. Cleveland
Original cover for The Amazing Spider-Man #413
Cabzilla wine, with modified Simitar VHS art from Godzilla, King of the Monsters!
MechaHopzilla beer can art, with a Mechagodzilla-like monster depicted on it
Concept poster for Colossal, featuring the outline of Godzilla on it
Concept poster for Colossal, using a picture of Godzilla on it
