Having been in the news this week due to possible changes in artistic direction (James Bond's long-serving producers give control to Amazon - BBC News), 007 also finds himself in the midst of a battle over the franchise's trade marks.
A Dubai-based property developer, Josef Kleindienst, is now challenging the owner of the multi-billion-pound franchise's use of trade marks on the grounds of non-use across a range of services in the UK and the European Union. His company are building a $5billion luxury resort on six man-made islands off the coast of Dubai called "The Heart of Europe". The development has a "unique" selling point of being a luxurious and exclusive brand (and, seemingly, would like to connect the same to MI6's most famous agent).
The majority of the trade mark challenges (cancellation requests) relate to the merchandising of goods and services under the Bond name and the use of the James Bond name in films and video, which can be challenged after 5 years of "non-use". The James Bond trade marks are registered to the US-based company Danjaq, which controls the worldwide rights to James Bond merchandising in conjunction with Eon. It appears that all of Danjaq's UK filings have cancellation requests pending by Mr Kleindienst. Danjaq now has two months to submit evidence of genuine use of the mark . However, we note that Danjaq subsequently filed a fresh trademark application for "JAMES BOND" on 17th February 2025 under a range of classes.
With the Spectre of cancellation hanging over it, it would certainly appear that the actions of Mr Kleindienst have left Danjaq "shaken, not stirred".
