# IP for movie characters, e.g., James Bond **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [May 31, 2021, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ip-for-movie-characters-e-g-james-bond/943314 "2021-05-31T22:40:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2021, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ip-for-movie-characters-e-g-james-bond/943314/1 "2021-05-31T22:40:25Z")
Amazon is buying MGM. And along with it, James Bond. But James Bond is a character. Ian Fleming’s novels are copyrighted, but I didn’t think you could copyright a character. Sherlock Holmes has been done to death. If I had a hundred million bucks, why couldn’t I produce my own James Bond movie with an original story? ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2021, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ip-for-movie-characters-e-g-james-bond/943314/2 "2021-05-31T23:06:44Z")
Sherlock Holmes is out of copyright and in the public domain. James Bond isn’t. When Ian Fleming has been dead 75 years (or whatever the law says) you can make your James Bond movie without licensing the rights from his estate. Characters are part and parcel with the original stories. You can’t just take part (a character) of a copyrighted book and call it original by building another story around it. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2021, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ip-for-movie-characters-e-g-james-bond/943314/3 "2021-05-31T23:08:06Z")
In general, a character would be protected as a trademark, while the work the character appears in would be copyrighted. But there’s a lot of overlap and of course, differences in international law. An interesting 2017 article includes: > [@](#): > > Even though most stories and plots are forgotten, the characteristics of a fictional character frequently remain fixed in a reader’s imagination; this fixation may then provide the true underlying value of a particular literary work or series. Because of the “value” that may be inherent in a fictional character, the creator and/or publisher should always take steps to ensure that the fictional character is protected, especially if there may be a possibility to use the fictional character in book sequels, or for licensing the use of the fictional character for films, television programming, electronic or other media or merchandising. It is only by maintaining control and protection of the fictional character that revenue streams may be maximized for the creator/publisher of that character. … [https://corporate.findlaw.com/intellectual-property/protection-of-fictional-characters.html](https://corporate.findlaw.com/intellectual-property/protection-of-fictional-characters.html) ---
**Author:** ![erysichthon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d07c76/32.png) [@erysichthon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erysichthon)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2021, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ip-for-movie-characters-e-g-james-bond/943314/4 "2021-05-31T23:23:11Z")
An example of how messy and complex this can get: > **[Judge Can’t Figure Out Who Owns Rights to “Jack Ryan” Character](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/judge-cant-figure-out-who-owns-rights-to-jack-ryan-character-4131645/)** > > A dispute with the publisher. A divorce. A death. A copyright termination. Nearly four decades after the publication of “The Hunt for Red October,” Tom Clancy’s widow is on the ve…