The owners of James Bond have called the attempt by an Austrian businessman to take control of the superspy’s name across Europe an “unprecedented assault” on the multibillion-pound global franchise.
In February, the Guardian revealed that a Dubai-based property developer had filed claims in the UK and EU arguing that lack of use meant various protections had lapsed around James Bond’s intellectual property, including his name, his 007 assignation and the catchphrase “Bond, James Bond”.
Nearly all of the nine trademarks being challenged relate to the merchandising of goods and services under the Bond name, which can be challenged after five years of “non-use”.
Josef Kleindienst, an Austrian who is building a $5bn (£3.7bn) luxury resort complex called the Heart of Europe on six artificial islands off Dubai, has argued the trademarks have been commercially underexploited.
Lawyers representing Danjaq, the US-based company which controls the rights to worldwide James Bond merchandising in conjunction with the UK-based production company Eon, have hit back, aiming to vigorously defend the 007 franchise.
“James Bond is a trademark of the highest reputation in the EU,” said Rudolf Böckenholt at Boehmert & Boehmert, one of the largest intellectual property (IP) law firms in Europe, representing Danjaq. “The trademarks are also licensed for numerous consumer products and merchandise products, ranging from very luxurious products to everyday products, as well as further services.”
“These goods and the corresponding services are covered by a number of trademarks that have been challenged and attacked by the claimant Josef Kleindienst in an unprecedented assault,” he added.
It has also emerged that Kleindienst has extended his attempt to try to take control of the spy’s various brands by also submitting his own trademark for James Bond in Europe.
He has not, however, done the same in the UK.
The European IP law firm Withers & Rogers said this was likely to be because the “intention to use test” that applications were submitted to was more stringently applied by the UK’s Intellectual Property Office than its continental equivalent the EU Intellectual Property Office.
“Danjaq would be more likely to object to the registration [in the UK] on the grounds of ‘bad faith’,” said Mark Caddle, a partner and trademark attorney at Withers & Rogers.
Danjaq’s lawyers are putting together evidence to prove the trademarks are still being commercialised, while at the same time arguing that Kleindienst’s “non-use” challenges “represent abuse of process”.
Kleindienst was approached for comment.
“The plot thickens,” Caddle said. “Opting for an ‘abuse of use’ defence suggests that Danjaq could believe that the cancellation attempt is not legitimate, and specifically, that the challenger may not be intending to use the marks commercially. While it is impossible to say for sure what the challenger’s motives are in this case, the James Bond trademark portfolio and its legacy value does make it an enticing target for opportunists, and further cancellation attempts can’t be ruled out.”
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Daniel Craig’s last outing as 007, No Time to Die, was released in 2021 and with no announcement yet of his replacement or timeline for production of the next film, the franchise is on track to beat the previous longest gap between instalments of six years and four months.
Danjaq also co-owns the copyright to the existing Bond films, along with MGM Studios, which was acquired by Amazon for $8.5bn in 2021. Days after the report of Kleindienst’s legal challenges, it emerged that Amazon had paid more than $1bn to gain full “creative control” of the franchise from Barbara Broccoli and Michael G Wilson, the longtime stewards of the Bond films.
With creative control, Amazon now has the power to move forward with new films and potentially TV spinoffs, without approval from the two British-American heirs to the film producer Albert “Cubby” Broccoli, who had overseen the integrity of the character originally created in 1953 by the author Ian Fleming.
In March, Amazon confirmed that Amy Pascal and David Heyman would steer the next Bond film, although no release date or lead actor has yet been named.
Pascal has experience with the Bond series in her previous position as Sony’s chair of film, overseeing Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace and Skyfall. She also had producer credits on the latest Spider-Man series.
Heyman is best known as the producer of the Harry Potter films as well as the Fantastic Beasts franchise and is now in pre-production on the HBO TV series adaptation of the stories. He is the second most commercially successful film producer of all time, with credits including Gravity, Paddington, Barbie, Wonka and Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood.
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