Objection Danjaq
Not entirely unexpectedly, Danjaq LLC, the company that manages all the trademark and copyrights surrounding the James Bond films, objected. Only problem was that Danjaq itself had forgotten to file a trademark registration of this phrase. Remarkable, because normally the company – when it comes to James Bond trademarks – sits like a buck on the oat box. Anyway, in the absence of trademark registration, the European trademark office EUIPO rejected Danjaq’s opposition in 2016 and Formosan got its registration in 2017.
Use
But then Formosan went wrong. To maintain your trademark rights, you have to use your mark, otherwise lapse of your rights can be invoked after five years. And Danjaq’s lawyers had that well noted in their agenda. When it turned out that Formosan still had not used the “Shaken, not stirred” trademark by the end of 2022, Danjaq started so-called invalidity proceedings. And with success. Formosan could show no use and so the registration was cancelled. Away beautiful mark! James Bond wins again.
Bas Kist
