Copyright Law strikes down Doctor Who on its 60th anniversary

The ongoing copyright dispute in the UK surrounding the TARDIS – the iconic time machine disguised as an old London police telephone box – and early episodes of Doctor Who shows the intersection of intellectual property rights and creative works. The BBC’s initiative to release the first Doctor Who episodes on iPlayer seems to have been halted by the estate of writer Anthony Coburn, due to alleged infringements concerning the TARDIS in the show’s initial episodes with the result that fans aren’t able to access the seminal first four episodes dating back to 1963.

Doctor Who is no stranger to copyright issues, ranging from the infamous Daleks, the robot dog K9, Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart and fan-generated content. The community has voiced concerns over the BBC’s attempts to curtail the creative endeavours of its ardent followers, reflecting a growing tension between fan engagement and traditional intellectual property rights adding another dimension(!) to character rights. There is a tricky balance between safeguarding intellectual property rights, preserving historical creative endeavours, and fostering a thriving fan-based ecosystem.

Media production is far more evolved than when Doctor Who began and if the current producers could time travel back to the early sixties they should certainly have advised their predecessors to ensure that all rights in the intellectual property surrounding Doctor Who, including scripts, characters or props, were properly assigned in writing to the BBC.

Anyone engaged in creative or collaborative ventures should consider the following tips to prevent similar legal issues:

️ Clear Agreements: Ensure that clear, written agreements are in place delineating the rights and obligations of all parties involved. This should include ownership rights over both created content and derivative works.

®️ Registration: Although copyright in the UK does not require registration of the work to be protected, other intellectual property rights such as trade marks and certain design rights must be registered with the relevant authorities. Furthermore, outside the UK the enforcement of copyright rights can depend upon whether or not the copyright has been registered.

Due Diligence: Thorough due diligence should be conducted to ascertain any existing rights in any items to be used in such ventures and so avoid potential infringements.

⚖️ Legal advice: Competent legal advice should be obtained to navigate the complex legal landscape of intellectual property and to address any disputes proactively.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/profiles/5Dp7g7b0dSVhD2TM1xNlf7c/the-tardis

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