He's got a license to kill, they've got a license to sue; attorneys look back fondly on blocking Sony from making Bond flicks.

While the rest of the movie-going public was pleasantly shaken and stirred by the new James Bond film, Casino Royale," a couple of L.A. attorneys saw it and waxed nostalgic.

Partners Susan Allison and Marc Marmaro represented MGM Pictures in its bid to prevent Sony Corp. from launching its own Bond film series in 1999. Ironically, the Bond franchise and an extensive library were among the factors that made MGM appeal to Sony in 2004, when it paid $5 billion for the classic studio.

"We're very endeared to the movies and the franchise and the character as a result of the litigation," said Allison. We had to become very familiar with the characteristics of the cinematic Bond."

That spat began when Sony announced in 1997 that it had obtained rights to the 007 film franchise from Kevin McClory, who collaborated with Ian Fleming on the "Thunderbolt" story. Allison and Marmaro, representing MGM and the Albert "Cubby" Broccoli-family and their Danjaq LLC film company, sued Sony with a variety of trademark claims. A hailstorm of counterclaims followed, but MGM was granted a preliminary injunction against Sony in 1998, halting production of Sony's competing Bond. Sony and MGM settled their claims in 1999.

McClory had also sued MGM, but lost his case in a 2000 trial because he had waited decades to exercise his intellectual property rights. MGM and McClory settled later that year before an appellate trial was scheduled to take place.

"It was pretty intense, especially because there were a lot of other claims and there were summary judgments in the meantime," Allison remembers.

And what judgment does Allison render on the roguish new Bond portrayed by Daniel Craig in the Sony film?

"I thought it was great," she said.

Staff reporter Emily Bryson York can be reached at [phone], ext. 235, or at [e-mail].