Craig Bond, the son of the late WA entrepreneur Alan, has renewed his battle with the US owner of the James Bond trademark as he attempts to market alcohol under the brand name "Special Bond".
In October, a delegate of the registrar of trademarks refused to register trademarks for "Special Bond Vodka" and "Special Bond Gin" which had been sought by Mr Bond's company Great South Enterprises Pty Ltd.
Lawyers for US-based Danjaq LLC argued the company and its predecessors had controlled the trademark in relation to James Bond films for more than 60 years and had exploited and licensed it for the purposes of merchandising, including with Aston Martin cars and Smirnoff vodka.
They also pointed to the fact that the James Bond character regularly drinks a vodka martini "shaken not stirred" in the films.
Delegate Nicholas Smith found there was a real risk that consumers would be confused if Great South Enterprises was able to market "Special Bond Gin" or "Special Bond Vodka".
"Given this reputation and in particular the association between James Bond/Bond and martini ingredients, the average consumer, when viewing gin or vodka bearing the Trade Marks, is likely to immediately associate the gin or vodka with the Opponent and be caused to wonder whether it might not be the case that goods bearing the Trade Marks come from the same source or that the Applicant’s Goods were marketed under the license of the Opponent," he said.
But Great South Enterprises has now lodged a new application to register a trademark for "Special Bond Beer". It has also lodged applications for "Bondy's Gin" and "Bondy's Vodka".
Bennett IP Principal David Stewart said Craig Bond had lost enthusiasm for the "Special Bond Vodka" and "Special Bond Gin" brands when Danjaq lodged its objections. As a result, he had not pressed the applications and had left it to the delegate to make the decision.
But he said the "re-animation" of a "zombie brand" like "Special Bond" was a popular thing to do in branding and Mr Bond was keen to use "Special Bond" for beer because of its earlier use by the Swan Brewery from the 1960s onwards.
He said the "Bondy's Vodka" and "Bondy's Gin" brands were unlikely to deceive anyone and he would be "surprised" if Danjaq objected to any of the applications.
Swan Brewery's "Special Bond" brand for beer was in used form as early as 1962, and Alan Bond bought the Swan Brewery in the 1980s. It later discontinued the "Special Bond" brand.
Though unsuccessful in last year's case at least partly because of the fact that both vodka and gin are used in James Bond's favourite martini (as outlined in the 2006 film Casino Royale), the brewery's use from the 1960s onwards of the "Special Bond" brand may allow Mr Bond to mount a case for its use in the marketing of beer.
A search of IP Australia's database indicates the Swan Brewery Company lodged an application to register the "Special Bond" trademark for its beer brand in 1972. The application lapsed and was not registered.
It's not the first time Danjaq LLC has challenged efforts to register trademarks in Australia. In 2004, it was successful in stopping Resource Capital Australia Pty Ltd from registering the trademark "James Bondi" for use in entertainment services, including film and television.
And in 2011, it was also successful in preventing Cysandra Punch and Bellinda Smith from registering "Miss Moneypenny" as a trademark for use in connection with clothing, headwear and footwear. The "Miss Moneypenny" clothing brand had been in use since 2004.
