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.

Private Attorney General? Not Without Showing A Benefit To The Public At-Large.

On November 18, 2013, the California Court of Appeal for the Fourth District in Norberg v. California Coastal Commission [G047522] reversed an award of attorney’s fees against the State holding the plaintiff, who established that the California Coastal Commission disregarded the Coastal Act by forcing the plaintiff to waive certain rights, could not recover private attorney general fees under California Code of Civil Procedure 1021.5 because the action did not confer a public benefit. 

The plaintiff's litigation sought to invalidate permit conditions affecting residential improvements on his privately owned oceanfront property.  Proving the Coastal Commission had not followed the law, which the court acknowledged was an important right, did not justify an award of attorney fees.  Because the plaintiff’s lawsuit concerned only the plaintiff’s property, the court ruled a significant benefit had not been conferred on the public at large.  In addition, the Norberg court found the financial burden of filing the lawsuit was not out of proportion to the plaintiff’s individual stake in the matter and therefore it was reasonable for the plaintiff to assume the financial burden of pursuing the case.

The case does not really break new ground but instead serves as a reminder that shifting the cost of litigation as a "private attorney general" can prove to be a difficult task.

A complete copy of the Norberg opinion can be obtained at www.courts.ca.gov/opinions/documents/G047522.PDF.

Authentic Brands Group Buys Elvis Presley (Well, his IP rights anyway)

As reported earlier today by Adrian Sainz of the Associated Press, "The money-making enterprise called Elvis Presley has been sold."

No purchase price was disclosed, but Authentic Brands Group ("ABG") announced it has bought all of Elvis Presley's intellectual property from CORE Media Group.  It also announced that it is partnering to operate the Graceland tourist attraction.  This gives ABG control of Elvis Presley Enterprises, which manages the licensing and merchandising rights to Presley's image, name and likeness, as well as all of the King's "massive collection of music, photos, movies, television appearances and performance specials." 

As countless dead celebrities like Marilyn Monroe, Albert Einstein, and Michael Jackson would tell you (if they could speak to you from beyond the grave), it pays to be dead (if you're famous).

For the rest of Sainz' story, see http://www.komonews.com/news/entertainment/Elvis-Presleys-intellectual-property-rights-sold-232587551.html.

Teacher's Aide Claims 'Elysium' Director Stole Idea for Film

Have you ever had a great idea for a movie but lacked the expertise (as well as the significant financial means) to make it a reality, only to see that idea turned into an actual movie by someone else?  Not surprisingly, this happens quite often in Hollywood.  And, when it does happen and the movie is a financial success, it often spawns lawsuits by those aspiring filmmakers who believe they have been cheated out of their share of the millions generated by the movie.

But, what happens when the movie is not a blockbuster or even fails to break even?  Does it still lead to litigation?  You bet it does.

In the case of the movie "Elysium," a movie written and directed by Neill Blomkamp (of "District 9" fame), a teacher's aide at Sequoia High School in Redwood City, California, Steve W. Briggs, is convinced that Mr. Blomkamp stole the idea for his movie and his screenplay titled "Butterfly Driver." Briggs is so convinced that he filed a lawsuit in California Northern District Court (Case Number: 4:13-cv-04679-PJH) naming Blomkamp, Sony Pictures Ent., Inc., Tristar Pictures, Inc., Media Rights Capital and QED International.

So, how did Blomkamp allegedly get ahold of Butterfly Driver?  Briggs claims he registered his script with the WGA-West in December of 2005 and then in February 2007 he posted a copy of it in its entirety to the screenwriting website TriggerStreet.com.  Bad idea?  Maybe.  Briggs is convinced that Blomkamp accessed his script on TriggerStreet and used it as the basis for his own. According to Briggs' complaint, there are numerous similarities between his script and Mr. Blomkamp's movie.  If he's right on both counts and he can prove that (a) the defendants had access to his script, and (b) there are substantial similarities between the script and the movie, then he may have a valid claim to a share of the movie's profits.

However, Elysium cost $115 million to make and was only moderately successful in the United States, bringing in roughly $92 million in revenue.  Why sue for copyright infringement on a losing venture?  Well, overseas ticket sales brought in an additional $272 million and, if you're a high school teacher's aide in a small, California town, this may be your only chance at a big break in Hollywood.

China Adopts New Trademark Law - Do We Care?

China has never been known as a paragon of intellectual property protection.  In fact, quite the opposite. However, in a stated effort to modernize and to try and take a more proactive leadership role on the world stage, China has decided to bring its IP laws into alignment with Western laws.  Well, some of them anyway.

After discussions and consultations for nearly 10 years, China’s National People’s Congress finally passed the “Decision on Revising the Trademark Law of the People’s Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as ‘Decision’)” on August 30, which adopts the third amendment to the country’s Trademark Law. The Decision is scheduled take effect on May 1, 2014, and has brought significant changes to the country’s current Trademark Law.

The Decision has made 53 revisions to the current Trademark Law in the following five areas:

• Adding provisions regarding the trademark review period;
• Improving the opposition system for trademark registration;
• Regulating the protection system for well-known trademarks;
• Strengthening the exclusive rights protection of trademarks; and
• Regulating the activities of trademark agencies.

Of course, only time will tell if these revisions will have any practical effort, especially for extraterritorial companies and individuals trying to enforce their IP rights against Chinese companies and Chinese nationals.

For additional information, check out a very detailed article on the subject by Jason Wang and Yan Zhang of the Beijing East IP Law Firm which can be found at http://ipchina.ip4all.com/?p=288.

 

#China #Trademarks #ChinaTrademarkLaw #HKC #HartKing&Coldren #IntellectualProperty

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