Judge Victor Marrero of the Southern District of New York signed the preliminary injunction order on April 17, 2026 — filed on the docket April 20, 2026 — in Toho Co., Ltd. v. The Individuals, Corporations, Limited Liability Companies, Partnerships, and Unincorporated Associations Identified on Schedule A to the Complaint, No. 26-cv-2303. The order converts a previously issued temporary restraining order into injunctive relief running through the pendency of the litigation.
Toho, the Japanese company that owns the Godzilla intellectual property, sued the defendants — listed in Schedule A under seller aliases including "Apex Threads," "TeeCrafters," and numerous other names — for copyright and trademark infringement. Schedule A lists approximately 150 Doe defendants by seller alias and Walmart seller ID, though several entries are marked "DISMISSED" or "EXCEPTED," and the precise number of active defendants could not be confirmed from the source packet alone.
For purposes of the preliminary injunction, the court concluded that Toho is likely to prevail on its copyright and trademark infringement claims at trial. The court further concluded that, as alleged, the defendants — without any authorization or license from Toho — have knowingly, willfully, and deliberately infringed Toho's Godzilla IP in connection with the systematic advertisement, distribution, offering for sale, and sale of infringing products into the United States through online marketplace accounts, including accounts on PayPal and Shop Pay. These are preliminary findings made under the likelihood-of-success standard; no final determination of infringement has been made.
The injunction bars defendants from manufacturing, advertising, selling, or distributing any infringing products, and from using the Godzilla IP in metatags, webpage titles, advertising links, search engine databases or cache memory, or any other form visible to a computer user or used to direct searches to defendants' seller aliases. Defendants are also prohibited from altering, disabling, closing, or transferring ownership of any seller alias on any marketplace platform.
On the asset side, the order directs Amazon, PayPal, Payoneer, Ping Pong Global Solutions, Coinbase, and eBay to locate, attach, and restrain the transfer or disposal of all funds and assets — including cryptocurrency — held in accounts associated with the defendants within five days of service. The same financial institutions must turn over identifying information, contact details, account numbers, account balances, and any affiliated marketplace accounts to plaintiff's counsel within the same five-day window.
Because the defendants' physical addresses are unknown or unverifiable, the court authorized electronic service under Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(f)(3), concluding that such service is reasonably calculated to provide proper notice and does not violate the Hague Service Convention. Defendants served with the order must respond to interrogatories and document requests within seven days.
Toho posted a $1,500 bond, which remains with the court. Any defendant may move to dissolve or modify the order on two days' notice to Toho.