James Bond Trademark Ownership Challenge Brought Forth By Fan

James Bond has been around for decades, but it took years to produce and release another film. One businessman from Austria wants to take over the franchise because he feels it is on the brink of being forgotten.

James Bond is one of the longest-running and most successful film series in cinematic history based on Ian Fleming’s spy novels. It follows James Bond, aka Agent 007, a smooth, charming, intelligent and skilled British secret agent working for MI6. The character made its debut in Fleming’s Casino Royale novel in 1953 and the first official movie, Dr. No, was released in 1962, starring Sean Connery. One businessman and property developer is eyeing the franchise’s rights because he feels there’s no progress and fears that James Bond will end up in oblivion.

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Josef Kleindienst, an Austrian property developer and businessman, spoke with The Guardian about the James Bond franchise. He challenges the rights to the multibillion-dollar spy franchise due to concerns about its future since it has been nearly five years since the last James Bond movie, No Time To Die, was released and there have been no updates as to who will take the mantle after Daniel Craig announced his retirement as Bond in November 2019. “James Bond will not die on our watch,” he said. Under trademark law, it can be challenged after five years of “non-use.” The trademark challenges raised by Kleindienst relate to the franchise’s merchandising of goods and services. Kleindienst’s spokesperson also said that they were “looking at the whole situation and are concerned.” “The falling commercial success, knowing that a fall will ultimately lead to death. Which we want to prevent. Under no circumstances should the next film be the last. The next film is not yet in sight but [there are] also other fundamental issues,” the spokesperson said.

The outlet noted that the lack of announcement about Craig’s replacement and production timeline sets the next film to break records for the longest gap between installments, which currently sits at six years and four months. Kleindienst expressed concern about the franchise’s fate. “We and many, many more fans are disappointed to see and understand how James Bond is being treated. Our concern is certainly to ensure that the James Bond as we know him stays alive and that there are further experiences with him. We have decided to invest and support, letting today’s fans and future generations enjoy James Bond,” he added. James Bond trademarks are registered to the US-based company Danjaq. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) co-owns the rights and distributes the franchise. Eon Productions, the studio behind most movies, is run by Barbara Broccoli and Michael G Wilson. Eon has control over the film franchise and the selection of actors to play the titular character. Broccoli only has two requirements for the next James Bond actor: that the lead be a “Brit” and a “man.” However, director Martin Campbell suggests an age requirement — that the lead be in his mid-30s.

This isn’t the first time the James Bond trademark and rights were subjected to legal battles. In 1997, Danjaq and Sony disputed the rights after the latter claimed they could make Bond films from Kevin McClory’s Thunderball rights. The former argued that Eon had an exclusive Bond rights and Sony lost the case. In 2018, a small video game from Europe attempted to trademark James Bond for gaming purposes. MGM and Danjaq disputed it, claiming they have the rights to the name and they won the case with the court reaffirming they own James Bond in all entertainment formats. It remains unclear what will happen to Kleindienst’s case. So, fans should wait and see for more updates.

James Bond movies stream on Amazon Prime.

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Source: The Guardian