An attempt to register a trademark for 90s video game 007 parody James Pond has been opposed by the James Bond IP owner.
Both Gameware Europe and System 3, who own the rights to James Pond, have attempted to revive the classic parody franchise with the announcement of new games. System 3 filed a trademark for James Pond last year, covering video games, toys and clothing. However, this move has been opposed by the copyright and trademark holder for the James Bond Films and related materials, Danjaq LLC.
A report by the World Trademark Review in regards to why Danjaq hasn’t comment on the situation, stating it’s “widely expected to rely on the reputation of the Bond mark and the legal consequences of that status.”
Mark Cale, CEO and founder of System 3, issued the following statement to the publication:
James Pond is a longstanding, well-established and widely recognised video game property dating back to the early 1990s, with its own distinct identity, history and audience in the games market. Over the years, it has been commercially published and distributed through more than 12 partners. That history included major industry names such as Electronic Arts before System 3 acquired the IP rights.
System 3 has a substantial catalogue of valuable classic retro game properties that it continues to preserve, restore and bring to modern audiences. As part of that process, formal trademark protection has become increasingly important in the modern marketplace environment, including for brand verification, protection and direct commercial activity on major online platforms.
This is therefore not a new or invented brand, but a genuine historic games property with longstanding commercial presence and recognition of 35 years.
James Pond: Rogue AI was announced last year by Gameware Europe, prompting criticism from James Sorrell, the original creator of the character, who accused the company of promoting it with “lazy, AI-generated bullshit.”
James Pond: Underwater Agent debuted in 1990 for Amiga, Atari ST and Acorn Archimedes, with a Mega Drive port arriving a year later. The game was developed by Vectordean, and sees the titular secret agent, a mutated mudskipper hired by the British Secret Service, to take down the nefarious Doctor Maybe, who has started filling the oceans with radiation and toxic waste, while brushing shoulders with seductive mermaids.
Two sequels followed in the form of 1991’s James Pond 2: Codename: RoboCod and 1993’s James Pond 3: Operation Starfish.
[Source – World Trademark Review via Time Extension, VGC]