The registration of an iconic movie theme as a trade mark: only ‘diamonds are forever'

2022 was a landmark year for the James Bond franchise. It saw the 60th anniversary of the first Bond film Dr. No but also the death of the British composer Monty Norman who composed the hit music theme underlying some of the Bond universe’s most iconic and nostalgic moments. On the 25th of February of that same year, a part of the musical score also achieved trade mark registration. However, this development attracted little attention by academics and practitioners. The article takes Case R 1996/2020-5 on the registration of the sound of the famous James Bond theme as a case study and considers the broader question of when a movie theme is sufficiently distinctive to be a worthy contender of a sound mark. It reflects on the potential scope of protection afforded to key acoustic identifiers of films, alongside any copyright protection that may otherwise subsist in the sound.