LONDON, England (AP) — The producers of James Bond films have acknowledged that an early version of the screenplay for the new movie Spectre was among the material stolen in the massive cyberattack on Sony Pictures Entertainment.

The producers said in a statement Saturday that they are concerned that third parties who received the screenplay might seek to publish it – and warned the material is subject to copyright protection around the world.

The producers promised to “take all necessary steps to protect their rights against the persons who stole the screenplay, and against anyone who makes infringing uses of it or attempts to take commercial advantage of confidential property it knows to be stolen”.

The warning was issued by EON productions, the UK affiliate of Danjaq LLC, the US-based company that co-owns, with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, the copyright to the Bond films and their merchandising.

There’s been speculation that North Korea is behind the cyberattack in retaliation for the upcoming comedy The Interview. That film depicts an assassination attempt on North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. North Korea has condemned the film, but denied the hack.