FC: More on Godzilla stomping Davezilla, speculation about Mozilla

From: Declan McCullagh (declanat_private)
Date: Tue Aug 13 2002 - 21:51:52 PDT

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    Previous Politech message:
    http://www.politechbot.com/p-03881.html
    
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    Date: Mon, 12 Aug 2002 17:45:36 -0400
    From: "Paul Levy" <PLEVYat_private>
    To: <politechat_private>, <declanat_private>
    Cc: <davelat_private>
    Subject: Re: FC: Godzilla movie owner nastygrams "Davezilla.com" humor site
    
    This is a pretty mild letter, phrased as a "request"
    
    I wonder if they have sent similar letters to the creators of Mozilla and 
    Go!zilla
    
    Or, the web site Budgie zilla
    
    I might add that a quick search on the Patent and Trademark Office's 
    electronic database turns up quite a number of other persons who have 
    trademarks in terms ending in zilla, including bosszilla, bootzilla, 
    dogzilla, webzilla, and bockzilla.  Seems like the letter maybe came from a 
    sillyzilla lawyerzilla with too much time on her handszilla
    
    Paul Alan Levy
    Public Citizen Litigation Group
    1600 - 20th Street, N.W.
    Washington, D.C. 20009
    (202) 588-1000
    http://www.citizen.org/litigation/litigation.html
    
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    From: Robert Black Eagle <rbeat_private>
    Reply-To: rbeat_private
    Organization: Desert Silver
    To: declanat_private
    Subject: Re: FC: Godzilla movie owner nastygrams "Davezilla.com" humor site
    Date: Tue, 13 Aug 2002 13:33:26 -0500
    
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    On Monday 12 August 2002 3:58 pm, Declan McCullagh wrote:
     > ---
     >
     > Date: Mon, 12 Aug 2002 14:05:12 -0400
     > From: Dave Linabury <davelat_private>
     > To: <declanat_private>
     >
     > This is just silly Declan. I am being legally threatened over the
     > name of my weblog. Davezilla.com, a parody/humor site run by me since
     > 1995, is being threatened by Toho Co. Ltd., for being too similar to
     > Godzilla [they own all Godzilla movies, toys, etc.].
     >
     > The letter I received via Fed Express from their lawyers on Saturday
     > is on my site here: http://www.davezilla.com/index.php?p=1292
    
    Having read the letter, I wonder why they have not come after Mozilla
    (the Open Source portion of Netscape), Issuzilla (a software
    bug-reporting system) and Prozilla (a software download program).
    Could it be that they fear they may be taking on too much financial
    risk taking on (1) programs supported and maintained by hundreds if not
    thousands of programmer and (2) a company with big bucks?
    
    - --
    Robert Black Eagle
    GnuPG for security in email
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    Date: Mon, 12 Aug 2002 18:07:39 -0700 (PDT)
    From: Bryan Murley <scmurleysat_private>
    Subject: Re: FC: Godzilla movie owner nastygrams "Davezilla.com" humor site
    To: declanat_private
    In-Reply-To: <5.1.1.6.0.20020812165631.01c9da48at_private>
    
    Mr. McCullagh,
    
    Have become a big fan of Politech since subscribing a
    little over a month ago. This post just illustrates
    the incredible silliness that has become copyright
    law. Courts have long recognized parody as a
    legitimate fair use. But the future may be bleak for
    guys like Davezilla. Might I suggest changing his
    nom-de-plume to
    Dave-No-Relation-Whatsoever-to-God-Zilla?
    
    B Murley
    
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    Date: Mon, 12 Aug 2002 17:43:56 -0700
    Subject: Re: FC: Godzilla movie owner nastygrams "Davezilla.com" humor site
    From: Alan Cabal <a.cabalat_private>
    To: <declanat_private>
    
    on 8/12/02 1:58 PM, Declan McCullagh at declanat_private wrote:
    
     > This is just silly Declan. I am being legally threatened over the name of my
     > weblog. Davezilla.com, a parody/humor site run by me since 1995, is being
     > threatened by Toho Co. Ltd., for being too similar to Godzilla [they own all
     > Godzilla movies, toys, etc.].
    
    I wonder if Pynchon got one for actually USING Godzilla in VINELAND,
    although he never actually named the Big Lizard.
    
    You should send them back a letter demanding that they explain why they let
    those lazy stupid Americans make that atrocious CGI movie with that
    hopelessly unrealistic looking bogus Godzilla attacking NYC & laying eggs
    all over MSG.
    
    Regards,
    
    Alan Cabal
    www.nypress.com
    
    ---
    
    Subject: Badzilla
    From: Gordon Runkle <gar@integrated-dynamics.com>
    To: declanat_private
    
    Hi Declan,
    
    So I guess Bugzilla and Mozilla are out as well?
    
    And how about all those "Golfzilla", etc. shirts and hats?
    
    Coming soon: "Lawyerzilla - The Monster That Ate the World!"
    
    Regards,
    
    Gordon.
    -- 
    "Far and away the best prize that life has to offer
       is the chance to work hard at work worth doing."
            -- Theodore Roosevelt
    
    ---
    
    
    
    
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