A classic of the 1990s, James Pond is now a somewhat forgotten franchise. While the first game was released in 1990, it was its sequel, James Pond 2: Codename Rebocod, that made the series popular. A third installment, James Pond 3: Operation Starfish, was released in 1993.
The series attempted a revival in 2011 on iOS, but unfortunately missed the mark. However, Gameware Europe and System 3, the co-owners of the franchise, attempted to register the James Pond trademark last year. The goal was to revive the franchise through video games, clothing, and toys.
However, the trademark application was opposed by Danjaq LLC, the holding company that owns the copyright to James Bond. While no official reason was given, we can assume that the strong resemblance between the two names played a role. Danjaq may fear that consumers will confuse the two intellectual properties.
In a statement, Mark Cale, the founder and CEO of System 3, commented on the situation.
“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.”
