It has been nearly two decades since the District Court for the Central District of California ruled that the James Bond character is protected under copyright law in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. v. American Honda Motor Co., 900 F. Supp. 1287, 1296 (C.D. Cal. 1995). In a recently-filed suit against Universal City Studios, MGM is now relying on that precedent to once again ask the same court to enforce its rights in the Bond character and movie franchise. Danjaq, LLC v. Universal City Studios LLC, No. 2:14-cv-02527-DDP-E (C.D. Cal. Apr. 3, 2014). The suit arises after Universal won a heated bidding war with rival studios to purchase a screenplay written by co-defendant Aaron Berg entitled “Section 6,” which apparently tells the story about the formation of the British MI6 intelligence agency.
