50-Year James Bond Copyright Dispute Ends with MGM Deal for Rights

By DAVID CHRISTOPHER BAKER, ESQ.

Even debonair super-spy James Bond (aka Agent 007) would have to admit being worn out as more than 50 years of litigation and business disputes came to an end when Bond film franchise producers Danjaq LLC (“Danjaq”) and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (“MGM”) agreed to purchase terms for all of the rights to the franchise owned by the estate of the late screenwriter Kevin McClory.

MGM has been the longtime distributor of the Bond movies and Danjaq has long been the franchise's producer, but the two movie powerhouses have been locked in legal battles with screenwriter Kevin McClory (now deceased) who collaborated with 007 author Ian Fleming on the script for the movie "Thunderball." Although the precise terms of the settlement were not disclosed, the companies announced that the deal brought the copyright saga to an "amicable conclusion."

 

The legal saga began when Fleming turned the first James Bond script for the movie “Thunderball” into a novel by the same name and McClory filed suit in 1961 over ownership rights. The parties eventually settled their differences and McClory was produced the movie version "Thunderball" and released it in 1965 and as the fourth 007 film.

Almost twenty years later, in 1983, a London court held that McClory had the right to produce all future James Bond movies and the franchise brought back Sean Connery, albeit for the last time, in the title role in "Never Say Never Again." which brought Sean Connery back as the dashing spy for the last time.

Then, when McClory sought to recover royalties from the other Bond films, a California court ruled against him in 2001 based on a finding that he had waited too long to make his case. Five years later, McClory died in 2006 at the age of 80, and his estate took up the fight. 

In total, James Bond has been seen onscreen in 24 films (if you include "Never Say Never Again") and have grossed almost $2 billion domestically.  The latest film, 2012’s “Skyfall,” is reported to have taken in more than $304 million.

Mr. Baker is head of the Intellectual Property Law Department and a partner at Hart, King & Coldren, a full service law firm located in Orange County, California.  If you would like to contact him, send an e-mail to dbaker@hkclaw.com or call him at (714) 432-8700.