Bond producer sue over "Bond rip-off" movie

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Bond producer sue over "Bond rip-off" movie

Post by Capt. Sir Dominic Flandry »

http://variety.com/2014/film/news/mgm-s ... 201152800/
MGM and James Bond producers Danjaq have filed a copyright infringement suit against NBCUniversal claiming that the studio’s “Section 6″ feature project is a rip off of the lucrative 007 franchise.

The suit, filed late Thursday in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, also names screenwriter Aaron Berg.

“This lawsuit concerns a motion picture project, in active development, featuring a daring, tuxedo-clad British secret agent, employed by ‘His Majesty’s Secret Service,’ with a ‘license to kill,’ and a 00 (double-O) secret agent number on a mission to save England from the diabolical plot of a megalomanical villain,” the suit states.

“Most moviegoers would assume from that description alone that this lawsuit concerns the next James Bond picture. It does not. This lawsuit is instead about a James Bond knockoff that defendant Universal is readying for production, based on a screenplay that defendant Berg wrote.”

The suit claims that the project, which is directed by Joe Cornish (“Attack the Block”) and stars Jack O’Connell (“Unbroken”), “misappropriates from the James Bond works far beyond the signature aspects of James Bond,” but that it copies “in detail nearly every aspect of the characters, plots dialogue, themes. setting, mood and other key elements of the copyrighted James Bond literary works and motion pictures.”

The courts have been ever-defining the extent to which copyright covers not just to specific projects, but to unique characters. In 1995, the federal court in Los Angeles ruled in favor of MGM in its contention that a Honda commercial violated its copyrights with a commercial that evoked Bond, even though that name was not used.

MGM and U have tangled over the project for several months, the suit states. MGM claims that it learned of the existence of the screenplay and that U had acquired rights to it, and then fired off a letter. U responded that it had not even optioned the project, and that had “no intention” of violating the copyright, MGM’s complaint states.

But last month, reports that U had hired a director, lead actor and four producers for the project triggered MGM’s ire again. MGM asked to see the most recent version of the screenplay, but Universal refused, the complaint states. MGM contends that U’s refusal to provide “concrete exculpatory information” about the latest version of “Section 6″ “leads to the conclusion that Universal is continuing to develop a screenplay that constitutes an unauthorized derivative work based upon plaintiffs’ copyrighted James Bond works,” MGM says.

The screenplay for the project states that it is premised on historical facts, the lawsuit states, but MGM and Danjaq claim that the “core elements are fictional.” It also contends that even though U asserted that the project is a historical account of the formation of MI6 immediately after World War I, “the dialog and relationships between the characters are strikingly out of place and years ahead of their time for a story set in 1918.”

The suit contends that “Section 6″ “imbue their James Bond knockoff with a ‘license to kill,’ employment by “Her Majesty’s Secret Service,” and a 00 agent number. All are creations of Ian Fleming, MGM argues.

MGM and Danjaq are seeking an injunction to prevent Universal from what they claim is an infringement on the Bond works.

A spokeswoman for Universal had no comment.

MGM is represented in the suit by Bobby Schwartz, Cassandra Seto and Brian Finkelstein of O’Melveny & Myers and Marc Becker of Quinn Emanuel.
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Re: Bond producer sue over "Bond rip-off" movie

Post by Kristatos »

Hmmm, my guess is that they will end up making a few tweaks to the script to eliminate any trademarked words or phrases and then move on. It shouldn't be too difficult to produce something that is still recognisable as a Bond pastiche without them.
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Re: Bond producer sue over "Bond rip-off" movie

Post by Daltonite Toothpaste »

I was laugh my arse off, and then cry, if they cast James Purefoy in this.
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Re: Bond producer sue over "Bond rip-off" movie

Post by dirtybenny »

Not only does EON not want to make Bond films anymore they don't want anyone else to either.

I find this highly ironic seeing as EON's last 3 movies were blatant rip-offs of Bourne and the Dark Knight series.
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Re: Bond producer sue over "Bond rip-off" movie

Post by Blowfeld »

Universal is probably laughing. This is great publicity for a movie nobody was paying attention too.

I'm not even sure if we should believe EON. From this press release it does sounds good, however so many terms Ian used were common to the intelligence community of the time it is doubtful how much of it is really intellectual property.

Almost any story pertaining to British intelligence has many similar themes.

I loon forward to reading more about this. The irony is not lost on me that the people who openly ripped off Batman and Bourne are upset someone might be ripping off 007 of 1964.
Even back in the day they sued to stop The Man From UNCLE thankfully Ian was alive to save the day.
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Re: Bond producer sue over "Bond rip-off" movie

Post by John P. Drake »

My guess is, EON will fail to win the trial this time. I wish Section 6 all the best!!
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Re: Bond producer sue over "Bond rip-off" movie

Post by Mazer Rackham »

There are several reasons to take action like this. One of them is to stop production long enough to avoid competition along with perhaps using the plot first. Other side of this is Sony had tried to win this script and failed, I wouldn't put it past them to be getting payback.

Regardless this the notion that Universal previous denied they were going to make this movie the concept is ludicrous they paid as much as they did for this script precisely because they wanted get it out in the theaters by a certain date. The very wording of the MGM/Danjaq complaint is extremely weak, filled with generalizations and misleading conclusions they own certain words/concepts.

Code: Select all

“This lawsuit concerns a motion picture project, in active development, featuring a daring, tuxedo-clad British secret agent, employed by ‘His Majesty’s Secret Service,’ with a ‘license to kill,’ and a 00 (double-O) secret agent number on a mission to save England from the diabolical plot of a megalomanical villain,” the suit states.

“Most moviegoers would assume from that description alone that this lawsuit concerns the next James Bond picture. It does not. This lawsuit is instead about a James Bond knockoff that defendant Universal is readying for production, based on a screenplay that defendant Berg wrote.”

“misappropriates from the James Bond works far beyond the signature aspects of James Bond,” but that it copies “in detail nearly every aspect of the characters, plots dialogue, themes. setting, mood and other key elements of the copyrighted James Bond literary works and motion pictures.”
I would expect Universal to win this easily since the script is extremely well researched with plenty of historical news clippings. If history backs them up they should win this very quickly, which they probably have to do when the Danjaq is claiming ownership of intangibles like "mood, setting, dialogue,and themes".

I suspect there is more behind this beyond the provided explanation of simply wanting to stop a potential rival spy series.

Synopsis of Section 6
[spoil]In 1919, Brit intelligence section, Section 1C, is going to be folded into MI5. Spies coming through 1C all came from Oxford and Cambridge, aristocrats who stuck out like sore thumbs. Sir Mansfield Cummings got hold of a blue collar war veteran, trained him and sent him on a crucial mission: an attack on the British embassy in Russia led to the theft of coded assassination orders signed by the King of England. The spy was tasked with recovering them because had they been discovered, WWII would have begun with those countries on opposite sides.[/spoil]
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Re: Bond producer sue over "Bond rip-off" movie

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Mazer Rackham wrote: Synopsis of Section 6
[spoil]In 1919, Brit intelligence section, Section 1C, is going to be folded into MI5. Spies coming through 1C all came from Oxford and Cambridge, aristocrats who stuck out like sore thumbs. Sir Mansfield Cummings got hold of a blue collar war veteran, trained him and sent him on a crucial mission: an attack on the British embassy in Russia led to the theft of coded assassination orders signed by the King of England. The spy was tasked with recovering them because had they been discovered, WWII would have begun with those countries on opposite sides.[/spoil]
Yeah, that totally sounds like it could be the plot of Bond 24 :roll:
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Re: Bond producer sue over

Post by John P. Drake »

Kristatos wrote:
Mazer Rackham wrote: Synopsis of Section 6
[spoil]In 1919, Brit intelligence section, Section 1C, is going to be folded into MI5. Spies coming through 1C all came from Oxford and Cambridge, aristocrats who stuck out like sore thumbs. Sir Mansfield Cummings got hold of a blue collar war veteran, trained him and sent him on a crucial mission: an attack on the British embassy in Russia led to the theft of coded assassination orders signed by the King of England. The spy was tasked with recovering them because had they been discovered, WWII would have begun with those countries on opposite sides.[/spoil]
Yeah, that totally sounds like it could be the plot of Bond 24 :roll:
Why they might bring the CR-egg era to 1919, since it would be artsy, so therefore it would be the basis of the B24 plot. _.//
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Re: Bond producer sue over "Bond rip-off" movie

Post by Omega »

The people who brought us the feminist PSA that pissed on the image of Bond are angry someone might make a real Bond movie in spirit or by cloning if their accusations are true :roll:

Now I really want to see this movie!


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Re: Bond producer sue over

Post by John P. Drake »

Omega wrote:The people who brought us the feminist PSA that pissed on the image of Bond are angry someone might make a real Bond movie in spirit or by cloning if their accusations are true :roll:

Now I really want to see this movie!


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I agree with you 100%, Omega!
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Re: Bond producer sue over "Bond rip-off" movie

Post by Kristatos »

I'm curious, does anyone know where I can find a list of trademarks owned by Danjaq/EON or Ian Fleming Productions (or whatever Glidrose is called these days). I tried googling it, but the only ones I know of for sure are "James Bond" and "007".
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Re: Bond producer sue over

Post by John P. Drake »

Kristatos wrote:I'm curious, does anyone know where I can find a list of trademarks owned by Danjaq/EON or Ian Fleming Productions (or whatever Glidrose is called these days). I tried googling it, but the only ones I know of for sure are "James Bond" and "007".
According to Deadline, here it is...
http://m.deadline.com/2014/04/universal ... er-danjaq/
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Re: Bond producer sue over "Bond rip-off" movie

Post by Kristatos »

John P. Drake wrote:
Kristatos wrote:I'm curious, does anyone know where I can find a list of trademarks owned by Danjaq/EON or Ian Fleming Productions (or whatever Glidrose is called these days). I tried googling it, but the only ones I know of for sure are "James Bond" and "007".
According to Deadline, here it is...
http://m.deadline.com/2014/04/universal ... er-danjaq/
I didn't see any list of trademarks in there, but it looks from the lawsuit as if they're claiming ownership of tuxedos, martinis and anything else they regard as a "distinctive trait" of the Bond character. I hope this gets laughed out of court.

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Re: Bond producer sue over "Bond rip-off" movie

Post by Blowfeld »

They listed a bunch of early movies they claim were "stolen" from. They go as far as claiming personality.

The 'Jesus Christ' moment for me was this line from the compliant
almost every women Bond meets young, beautiful, and attracted to him.
So EON also owns the right to beautiful heterosexual females as well??
The name introduction is stolen.
Dialogue is stolen.

Some of this could be true, if so they have a right to protest it. However as I read the complaint as list @ Deadline I had the sinking feeling this a nuisance compliant on the same level as those professors who patent vague generic ideas like data stored in digital form on circular discs in an attempt to extort money from CD,DVD, LaserDisc, Bluray, manufactures.

There could be some validity and I don't wish to dismiss it out of hand. The fact remains a good deal of what the movies and Ian's original books contained were borrowed from real world history. Without a line by line comparison I can't help but doubt.

The other thought I had is perhaps a Universal should countersue for ripping off Bourne.
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Re: Bond producer sue over "Bond rip-off" movie

Post by John P. Drake »

I have a feeling EON will lose this time. You don't mess with Universal.
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Re: Bond producer sue over

Post by Kristatos »

Blowfeld wrote:They listed a bunch of early movies they claim were "stolen" from. They go as far as claiming personality.

The 'Jesus Christ' moment for me was this line from the compliant
almost every women Bond meets young, beautiful, and attracted to him.
So EON also owns the right to beautiful heterosexual females as well??
Yes, and also "a singular hero, acting alone, defeat[ing] a megalomaniacal villain", apparently.
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Re: Bond producer sue over "Bond rip-off" movie

Post by Goldeneye »

Perhaps it less about the details of the story, and more about the fact Universal is trying to make a English espionage action movie (series maybe) using the same foundations Ian Fleming used for Bond. For the Bond producers it was the unique aspect they retained after all these years and many imitators. In a way I see being upset someone is opening a similar franchise in Bond's backyard, in another way it seems like the big franchise picking on a nobody.
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Re: Bond producer sue over "Bond rip-off" movie

Post by Kristatos »

I can see why they might be upset, too, but how many Bond knock-offs have there been over the years without it affecting the success of the original? And I think they are way overreaching in trying to claim copyright on anything vaguely similar to Bond. They seem to think they own the entire spy genre, if not the entire adventure genre.
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Re: Bond producer sue over "Bond rip-off" movie

Post by John P. Drake »

Probably when Marvel's Black Widow goes solo, they'll sue the movie because it's "spy adventure with over the top elements started with Bond". Am I the only one who sees that coming through?
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