(Photo credit: Flickr/Creative Commons by cogdogblog)

The estate of Ian Fleming, the late British author who penned the James Bond books, has signed a deal that gives digital and print publishing rights to Vintage Books.

Vintage Books, a division of Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, which is part of Random House, now possesses publishing rights for 10 years to the book series that spawned an enduring film franchise, Reuters reported.

Coincidentally, Fleming published his first Bond novel, Casino Royal, with an imprint of Vintage Books called Jonathan Cape, the BBC reported.

Ian Fleming's famous Secret Service agent 007 remains one of the most iconic of all literary creations, and continues to thrill new and existing readers alike, said Vintage Publishing managing director Richard Cable, according to a statement posted on the official website for Fleming. We are excited to welcome Ian Fleming's books to the Vintage list for the first time and to reunite him with Jonathan Cape, the original publisher of his work.

The deal marks another recent, high-profile score for Vintage Books.

The publishing division recently acquired the rights to E.L. James' saucy Fifty Shades trilogy.

Intellectual property law