Courtesy of the Intellectual Property Office www.ipo.gov.uk here’s an interesting story.

On a December night, fifty years ago, a strange and previously unknown creature was introduced to the people of planet Earth. It was a distillation of everything bad: it was super-intelligent; it was armed to the teeth - or the plunger, to use the vernacular humanoid descriptor of the day; it was capable of interstellar travel, telekinesis and time travel; it consisted of an unholy fusion of bad metal and black bile. It was, of course, a Dalek.

During their fifty year history, the Daleks have been upgraded. Their development mirrors other successful brands. Like VW Beetles or Minis, they have grown tubbier, brighter and possibly even a little smug looking. The Daleks deserve to be proud. They have bent their metallic shoulder slopes to the task of creating a long running, world beating, creative product. Their arch enemy, Dr Who, is known throughout the world. In 1996 the BBC registered the name Dr Who as UK trade mark 2053985. Last year Dr Who was BBC Worldwide’s top brand. Today the value of the Dr Who brand is growing and will one day outstrip the dimensions of this planet.

The programme has come up with very innovative products - the TARDIS and the Sonic Screwdriver. Both are patented and their value as assets can not be underestimated.

What IP do You Own? Find out more at the BIC’s workshop in Stoke on Trent on 11 April 2013