Danjaq, LLC (formerly Danjaq S.A. and Danjaq, Inc.) is the

holding company A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own shares of other companies ...

responsible for the copyright and trademarks to the characters, elements, and other material related to

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...

on screen. It is currently owned and managed by the family of

Albert R. Broccoli Albert Romolo Broccoli ( ; April 5, 1909 – June 27, 1996), nicknamed "Cubby", was an American film producer who made more than 40 motion pictures throughout his career. Most of the films were made in the United Kingdom and often filmed at Pi ...

, the co-initiator of the popular film franchise.

History

Founding

Danjaq S.A. was founded by

and

Harry Saltzman Herschel Saltzman (; – ), known as Harry Saltzman, was a Canadian theatre and film producer. He is best remembered for co-producing the first nine of the ''James Bond'' film series with Albert R. Broccoli. He lived most of his life in Den ...

after the release of the first James Bond film '' Dr. No'', in

1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wor ...

, to ensure all future films in the series. The new company was to be called Danjaq, a combination of Broccoli and Saltzman's respective wives' names (Dana Broccoli and Jacqueline Saltzman). The company was originally domiciled in the

Canton of Vaud Vaud ( ; french: (Canton de) Vaud, ; german: (Kanton) Waadt, or ), more formally the canton of Vaud, is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of ten districts and its capital city is Lausanne. Its coat of arms ...

in Switzerland, hence the appearance of " S.A." letters in the first legal name of the company. In 1962, Danjaq began its association with

United Artists United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the stud ...

Ownership

Due to a series of failed business interests, Harry Saltzman's personal financial difficulties forced him to sell his 50% share of Danjaq to United Artists in 1975. In 1986, Albert and Dana Broccoli acquired United Artists' 50% stake in the company and so assumed complete control of Danjaq.

John Cork John Cork is an American author, screenwriter, and documentary film director and producer. Career An avid James Bond fan, Cork has produced, written (along with Bruce Scivally), and directed more than thirty documentaries for MGM's releases ...

claims that in exchange for the sale,

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...

/ UA received an exclusive distribution deal with Danjaq that is far more lucrative than when the shares were originally owned by Broccoli and Saltzman. Danjaq's legal domicile was changed from Switzerland to Delaware in October 1992. The Delaware company’s legal name was ''Danjaq, Inc.'' The company was converted to a limited liability company in January 1997. In 1999, as part of a settlement of a lawsuit between MGM and

Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professiona ...

, Sony acquired MGM's interest in the '' Spider-Man'' film rights, while Danjaq bought out the rights to the novel '' Casino Royale''. Following the death of Albert Broccoli in 1996 and Dana Broccoli in 2004, control of Danjaq was passed to

Michael G. Wilson Michael Gregg Wilson, (born January 21, 1942) is an American-British screenwriter and film producer, best known for his association with the ''James Bond'' film series. Background Wilson was born in New York City, the son of Dana (née Na ...

Copyright status

Although the trademarks for material related to the Bond films are held by Danjaq, the copyrights to the first 20 film properties are co-owned by Danjaq LLC and

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 ...

Studios (the technical successor to subsidiary

). The copyrights to '' Casino Royale'', '' Quantum of Solace'', ''

Skyfall ''Skyfall'' is a 2012 spy film and the twenty-third in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions. The film is the third to star Daniel Craig as fictional MI6 agent James Bond and features Javier Bardem as Raoul Silva, the vill ...

'' and ''

Spectre Spectre, specter or the spectre may refer to: Religion and spirituality * Vision (spirituality) * Apparitional experience * Ghost Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Spectre'' (1977 film), a made-for-television film produced and writ ...

'', are shared between Danjaq LLC, MGM, and

Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the multi ...

Films made outside the control of Danjaq

Two Bond films have been made outside the control of Danjaq, the first was the 1967 film '' Casino Royale'', with

David Niven James David Graham Niven (; 1 March 1910 – 29 July 1983) was a British actor, soldier, memoirist, and novelist. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance as Major Pollock in '' Separate Tables'' (1958). Niven's other roles ...

as Bond; the second was the 1983 film '' Never Say Never Again'', a remake of '' Thunderball''. ''Never Say Never Again'' was the result of a legal dispute involving

Kevin McClory Kevin O'Donovan McClory (8 June 1924 – 20 November 2006) was an Irish screenwriter, film producer, and film director. McClory was best known for producing the James Bond film '' Thunderball'' and for his legal battles with the character's cre ...

, one of the credited co-writers of the story used for the novel '' Thunderball'', who was awarded the film rights to the novel in a 1963 settlement with Ian Fleming.

Litigation

Danjaq LLC v. James Bond Ltd

On 13 July 2009, Danjaq applied under s.69(1)(b) of the

Companies Act 2006 The Companies Act 2006 (c 46) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which forms the primary source of UK company law. The Act was brought into force in stages, with the final provision being commenced on 1 October 2009. It largely ...

for a change of name of James Bond Ltd, which had been registered since 12 June 2009. James Bond Ltd was ordered by the adjudicator at the

Company Names Tribunal The Company Names Tribunal was created on 1 October 2008 in the United Kingdom and is a direct result of the coming into force of Section 69 of the Companies Act 2006. The Company Names Tribunal is administered by the UK Intellectual Property Off ...

to change its name and to not register another company with an offending name. The respondent was also ordered to contribute toward Danjaq's costs.Danjaq LLC v. James Bond Ltd
Retrieved 23 September 2014

References

External links

Information about Danjaq and Eon Productions
at Eon's website
Danjaq LLC v. Sony Corp., 263 F.3d 942 (9th Cir. 2001)
{{Authority control James Bond Holding companies of the United States Companies based in Santa Monica, California 1962 establishments in California Holding companies established in 1962 Film production companies of the United States American film studios Mass media companies established in 1962 American companies established in 1962