New Line reached an agreement with the producers of the James Bond films MGM/United Artists over the use of the name.

The settlement ends months of haggling between the two companies.

MGM/United Artists originally petitioned the Motion Picture Association of America to ban the suggestive name saying it infringed on the title of its 1964 007 thriller Goldfinger.

Studio executives were forced to recall millions of dollars of publicity material featuring the name Goldmember.

And the new Austin Powers film, again starring Mike Myers, was left without a title.

Part of the deal struck this week stipulates that "any future titles that may be construed as parodies of James Bond titles will be subject to MGM's approval".

Success

At the start of the week, Daily Variety reported that the deal under discussion included MGM's demand that promotion for the new Bond adventure go ahead before that of the next Austin Powers film.

MGM also wanted to promote the 20th 007 film Die Another Day before New Line's second Lord of the Rings movie.

However, both studios refused to confirm whether that clause was part of the final agreement.