The legal battle behind Bond's Blofeld

I thought this was interesting for those who never knew the issues with it.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/legal-battle-behind-bonds-blofeld-755734

Where has Blofeld been? In court, mired in copyright litigation. The character originated in Longitude 78, a 1959 screenplay by Bond author Ian Fleming and screenwriter Kevin McClory. That script was intended to be the first 007 film, until producers Albert Broccoli and Harry Saltzman chose to shoot Dr. No. But Fleming liked Blofeld so much, he decided to turn Longitude 78 into a novel, retitled Thunderball. That's when McClory started filing lawsuits. In 1963, he settled with Fleming and the Bond producers for £35,000 ($1.02 million today) in damages and a producing credit on the Thunderball film. The deal also stipulated that rights to Thunderball and its characters would revert fully to McClory after 10 years, which is how he produced Warner Bros.' Never Say Never Again, 1983's veritable scene-for-scene remake of Thunderball, and nearly launched a competing 007 franchise with Sony in the 1990s until a court stopped them. Even after McClory's death in 2006, Blofeld remained in legal limbo until last year, when a new deal between MGM, the Bond people and McClory's heirs cleared the path for Waltz to portray Number 1. wrote:

Get yourself a copy of The Battle for Bond (2007), by Robert Sellers, Dog.

And paint your toes.

Yep - The Battle for Bond is a great read!