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© Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Toho sues U.S. studio over Godzilla copyright violation
By YURI KAGEYAMA TOKYO©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.
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taiga_123
hope the japan doesnt put down their allegation just bc of politics and let the sue be like us did to toyota
Dan Lewis
To be fair, recent depictions of Godzilla hardly resemble the original Toho version. A slight name change should prevent any lawsuits. Say, Gawdzilla? OMGZilla? Goad-zeela? (read with Indian accent)
Aha! Naruhodo! The real reason!
nath
Dan: Do new images and actors portraying superman resemble the old TV black and white episodes? I do not think so.
Godzilla is copyrighted and protected. V Movies are stealing its fame. A slight name change is like what China does to logos. It is theft.
TelcoPhil
Watched the first one back in the early 50s, left the theater, went into another theater and watched Rodan. Been hooked almost 60 years, thanks mom.
Raymond Chuang
This story may not be the first case this year of a Japanese entertainment company suing a US entertainment company for copyright infringement in 2015. A LOT of people in Japan have said that the new Disney/Pixar movie Inside Out bears too much resemblance to the manga series Nounai Poison Berry, which has been published by Shueisha in a manga anthology since 2009 (and a live action movie adaption just came out a few weeks ago in Japan).
Vernie Jefferies
It's not a good idea for anyone to use any images of Godzilla without permission. Toho has a US law firm that will lay down a big hammer against you. It's a very well protected property.
TelcoPhil
Vernie Jefferies, all the films copy each other in some way shape or form.
I don't know why they marked this off topic when it is not.
Think, what changes in films? The characters change, the background changes, the time period its set in changes. Cars, planes, weapons, clothes all change to fit that time period.
However the plots change very little between different unrelated action, SciFi, horror, drama or crime films.
The chases and shoot'em ups are pretty much the same depending on how many explosions they can afford, and how big, how many added people are in the movie depends on the budget.
Money plays a big role to make it and pay the people in the really long list of credits, someone or a company to back it and someone to pick it up and release it.
Advertising can make a film look too good, then the film flops, people are disappointed that made it and the people who paid to see it.
Watch enough movies and you'll start to see it, many situations, and locations are reused in more than one movie and some of the movies have nothing to do with the other."
Thunderbird2
So it's not a Godzilla film in the sense that it's about Godzilla the monster, but it's about MAKING Godzilla films? Actually sounds quite interesting.
I hope Toho wins though... Voltage really do need to obtain the rights to use the name and likeness in the film, and not just do what they want. Not a fanzine.
caffeinebuzz
Voltage Pictures. Now where have I heard that name before...? Oh yeah! The studio currently going after Aussie downloaders The Dallas Buyers Club case). Hope Toho give them an absolute caning!
lostrune2
And a lot of people in America thinks those bear too much of a resemblance to the 1990s TV show Herman's Head:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herman%27s_Head
Bartholomew Harte
Peter Payne
It's a good thing Godzilla isn't based on tyrannosaurus rex or anything.
Alex80
Finally, Japan is trying, at least for once, to protect its rights against American arrogance.
lostrune2
Ya guys realize it's an American law firm that filed this lawsuit on behalf of Toho, right?
It's an American protecting the rights of one of its clients against another American, heheh.