Danjaq

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Danjaq, LLC (formerly Danjaq S.A.) is the holding company responsible for the copyright and trademarks to the characters, elements, and other related material to James Bond on screen. Danjaq is currently owned and managed by the family of Albert R. Broccoli, the co-initiator of the popular Bond film franchise. EON Productions, the production company responsible for producing the James Bond films is a subsidiary of Danjaq.

Danjaq was founded by Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman after the release of the first James Bond film, Dr. No in 1962 to insure all future films in the series. The new company was to be called Danjaq S.A., a combination of Broccoli and Saltzman's wives names (Dana Broccoli and Jacqueline Saltzman).

Due to financial difficulities, Saltzman later sold his share of Danjaq to United Artists in 1975. Beginning with 1977's The Spy Who Loved Me, Danjaq began to share half the copyright and interests with United Artists Corporation, which is putatively the case still today.

Some sources, notably John Cork, the author of a number of books about Bond's film history and a producer of a number of documentaries created for the Special Edition DVD release, claim that Broccoli purchased this 50% stake of Danjaq back from UA in the mid-1980s. He further suggests that MGM/UA have an exclusive distribution deal with Danjaq that is far sweeter than when Broccoli and Saltzman owned the shares originally. ^{[#endnote_stake]}

Although the trademarks for Bond film related material are held by Danjaq, the film properties (beginning with Dr. No) are copyrighted by Danjaq and United Artists Corporation. The Bond trademarks having to do with the James Bond books and other non-film publications are held by Ian Fleming Publications.

References

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