Godzilla Beats NOLA Brewing, Mechahopzilla No More

Toho Co Ltd, the Japanese mega-corp which controls the rights to the Godzilla franchise, has prevailed in a copyright battle over NOLA Brewing's double IPA, Mechahopzilla. The trademark infringement lawsuit was filed in September, and last week Toho's attorneys announced that they had come to a settlement with NOLA Brewing, with the brewery agreeing to cease using the Mechahopzilla name and the accompanying logo in its present form by the end of 2014.

NOLA Brewing executives declined to comment until the agreement has been finalized and the new artwork and marketing materials to be approved, but supplied the following statement from their attorney, Chad A. Grand with Jones Walker LLP :

"We are pleased that the parties were able to find some mutually agreeable middle ground, because it does not exist in most suits of this nature. For the time being NOLA Brewing will continue to use the name and imagery that was at issue on its beer cans and tap handles, but will transition to modified versions of the marks over the next several months. The existing imagery will have some modifications, but NOLA Brewing will continue to use a lizard-like creature. Also, the name will be shortened to 'Mecha,' which is what most people call it anyway."

· All Beer Here! Coverage [-ENOLA-]
· All NOLA Brewing Coverage [-ENOLA-}

— Nora McGunnigle