Charles N. Shephard

• For more than 25 years, has represented Toho Co., Ltd., the owner of the intellectual property rights in the character “Godzilla,” protecting Toho’s copyright in the character and in its library of motion pictures; the Godzilla copyright litigation on behalf of Toho has included the following (all of which were resolved with the infringing conduct being stopped):

1. Represented Toho in litigation concerning the unauthorized use of Godzilla in video games
2. Represented Toho in litigation concerning the unauthorized utilization of Godzilla in national advertisements and advertising campaigns
3. Represented Toho in litigation concerning the unauthorized distribution of Godzilla motion pictures in home video formats
4. Represented Toho in litigation concerning the unauthorized manufacture and distribution of Godzilla toys
5. Represented Toho in litigation concerning the unauthorized publication of Godzilla reference books
6. Represented Toho in litigation concerning the unauthorized use of Godzilla copyrighted theme music being “sampled” in rap music
7. Represented Toho in litigation concerning the unauthorized use of Godzilla posters and movie trailers
8. Represented Toho in litigation against American Honda for unauthorized use of a Godzilla float in the Rose Parade

• Represented Toho in litigation concerning the right to make derivative works based on Toho’s copyright interest in The Seven Samurai
• Represented James Cameron in connection with claims asserted by third parties that the motion pictures Terminator and Terminator 2 infringed pre-existing copyright works
• Represented James Cameron and Lightstorm Entertainment in connection with claims of copyright infringement and idea submission in connection with motion picture Avatar
• represented plaintiff in successful claim that iconic and ground-breaking reality television show was plaintiff's idea
• Represented Nigel Lythgoe and E! Entertainment in copyright infringement claim asserted against them in respect of television series Opening Act.
• Represented Subafilms, Ltd. (“The Beatles”) against MGM/UA in connection with the unauthorized distribution of Yellow Submarine; the litigation involved, in part, issues of whether the grant of distribution rights extended to new technologies which did not exist at the time of the grant, whether the distribution of a motion picture that is inconsistent with the terms of its license constitutes copyright infringement, and the extraterritorial effect of the United States Copyright Act
• Represented David Arquette in connection with the claim that his motion picture The Tripper infringed pre-existing copyrighted work; the case was dismissed at the pleading stage
• Represented Gameloft, Inc. and Gameloft S.A. in defense of a claim by Activision, Inc. that Gameloft’s “Guitar Legend:  Get on Stage!” mobile phone game infringed copyrights in the “Guitar Hero” video game; the matter was settled at the pleading stage
• Represented Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman in separate right of publicity actions involving unauthorized utilization of the actors’ likenesses as they appeared in copyrighted works; the defense of copyright preemption was asserted in those cases and rejected by the Court in each instance
• Represented Warren Beatty in litigation against Tribune Media Services involving rights in and to the character Dick Tracy; the case involved, in part, assertions by Tribune concerning the non-assignability of copyrights; the Tribune’s copyright argument was rejected by the Court