Welcome to the first in a series of Dragons’ Den and Intellectual Property (IP) blogs from us. We have been on the lookout for any IP discussed or featured on Dragons’ Den each week.

The new series opened with a range of innovative ideas and inventions ranging from an on-line present (gifts) site, through to a human cannon ball! So normal service has definitely resumed in the Den this year already!

First to face the Dragons was Georgette Hewitt, founder of ‘The Present Club’. Her pitch was all about an online present (gifts) wish list for children, where the whole family can contribute to buying presents that are actually wanted, thus minimising waste.

A few questions were raised by the Dragons about the ownership of the website. In terms of her IP, we would ask Mrs Hewitt to find out if she had retained the copyright over her website. The general rule in Copyright is that the creator owns it, unless the rights are assigned when the work was commissioned. Mrs Hewitt confirmed the creation of the website was commissioned, so she will need to check the terms and conditions of the work as she may find that she does not actually own her website design. As Dragon Hilary Devey quite rightly pointed out, “…Without your website, what do you own?...”

Our website has more information about Copyright, including website design and ownership.

Rodrigo Perez’s act of the human cannon ball, although entertaining, cannot be protected in anyway because you cannot protect a ‘method’ or ‘an idea’.

However, it might be possible to patent the device used to perform the act (the Cannon). A quick and free search of the US patent database led us to this patent - US115837 , applied for by William Farini in 1871. This is an example of one of the earliest applications for similar apparatus. In the same search, we also found out that DEKA Products filled an application in 2005 that describes using a similar system to deploy a person, such as a fireman, to the top of a building in an emergency situation. (See WO2007/011398 ).

You can find out more about Patents, and the criteria required to be able to apply for one on our website.

Chris Hopkins of ‘Ploughcraft’ has already considered his intellectual property by protecting the name ‘Ploughcraft’ with a trade mark (see Trade Mark 2485223). Deborah Meaden made the point that she was already using a similar system through another company. However, by protecting his business’s name with a trade mark, Chris is potentially able to become a market leader through building up a recognised and trusted brand.

Chris indicated that solar energy is a growing market and interestingly we found patents relating to solar panels that date back as far as 1888, (see patent US389124 ) filed by Mr E Weston. It was for apparatus utilising solar radiant energy. More recently Apple has been granted a patent relating to solar energy powering portable devices (see patent US7868582 ).

Our website has lots more information, help and advice on Trade marks.

Did you know? – Green Channel acceleration scheme (Patents)

If you have a patent relating to ‘Green technology’, we have a ‘Green Channel’ acceleration scheme. So far, over 450 green patent applications have been made since the service was launched in May 2009. The service can dramatically reduce the amount of time it can take for a patent to be granted. Using the Green Channel, an application is granted after an average of around 8 months after it has been requested for acceleration. This compares to an average time of around 36 months for a normal application.

All in all, a busy and stressful week in the Den for some. Well done to all the entrepreneurs taking part this week and especially to Georgette and Chris who managed to get the Dragons to part with their money.

We've been treated to another exciting and IP-filled episode this week, with patents and trade marks being particularly prominent.

Krissy Sims and Kerry O'Brien were first into the Den and pitched their business offering urban arts activities, such as rapping and DJing, to youth and corporate markets. Copyright is particularly prevalent in this business, as it centres around performing arts and creating music. Generally, copyright is retained by the creator and Krissy and Kerry will have to ensure that they are not using music for which they do not own the copyright, or that they have the appropriate licences.

As Evan said in the programme, "One way to catch the eye of the dragons and that of the modern consumer is with a strong brand; that's more than just a logo, it's a whole visual identity". This was particularly true for Love Da Pop.

The Dragons were interested in Love Da Pop's strong identity and the opportunity of building up their brand. Christian, Tom and Martin did well in securing investment from Peter Jones, who made it clear that he was investing in them and their brand, rather than the product itself.

In terms of intellectual property rights, you can protect your brand by applying for a trade mark for your name and/or logo. For example, Love Da Pop could apply for a trade mark for their name and for the piece of popcorn that forms part of their visual identity. A quick search of our free online trade mark database shows that "Love Da Pop" is not registered.

Your brand, and therefore your trade mark, is what separates you from your competitors, so it's really important to make sure you protect it. It's also very important to make sure that you aren't infringing anybody else's trade marks. Another quick search shows that a company in the US has a trade mark for "Love Pop" in the area of confectionery.

In contrast to this, Liz and Alan Colleran have trade marked the name of their innovative Duvalay® and also their company name, Raskelf®. This means that nobody else in the UK can use these names in the classes they have registered, and Liz and Alan can start to build a strong, trusted brand knowing that it’s properly protected.

Did you know: It only costs £170 file a trade mark application online in a single class.

Patents are another important area of intellectual property and will be crucial to the innovation behind several of this week’s pitches.

In particular, the Collerans have a patent application for their Duvalay ® product. By searching the online patent databases via our website you can find their application: WO 2006079784 . A patent will ensure that they own the monopoly on their invention and that none of their competitors can make or sell their product in the countries they have applied in. Although the pair drew criticisms for their business plan, Hilary Devey offered them a deal based on the strength of their product, which is underpinned by their patent protection.

We recommend that you perform a search of our online patents databases to make sure that you are not infringing anybody else's patent.

Greg from UV Body Sculpture also had patent protection for his product but had not exploited it for 14 years. In that time other similar inventions have also had patents applied for, such as DE 19631848 , which discloses a template for forming a patterned sun tan on the skin. Without a business plan or any clear direction, he failed to secure investment from the Dragons. However, they did suggest licensing (425Kb) the product to tanning shops and charging them a fee to use his invention. There are lots of different types of licenses that parties can agree to when using each other's IP. For instance, they can help collaborators work together on a joint project or, potentially in Greg's case, they can allow an inventor to license-out their product to a third party in return for financial reward.

Let us know what you thought about this week's pitches and their IP by dropping us a tweet, we're @The_IPO. That's all for this week, come back next week to see what IP we spot in the next episode!

A great, tense atmosphere in the Den this week and some more really interesting IP points have been raised.

The only successes in the Den were Peter and Michelle Hart, securing investment from Duncan Bannatyne for their business Fun Fancy Dress Limited ®. As well as their shop and website sales, their business plan included setting up a series of franchises, and IP is crucial in these.

A franchise generally involves the granting of rights, to an individual or group, to market a company's goods or services within a certain territory or location.

These rights are granted using licences; the person who grants the licence is called a franchisor and the person who obtains the licence is called the franchisee. The agreement means that the franchisee is allowed to use all the elements of the successful franchised business. This can include the corporate image, registered and unregistered trade marks, know-how and show-how, products, registered and unregistered designs, marketing and promotional material and in some instances, patented technology. The franchisee has to pay the franchisor certain fees and royalties in exchange for these rights and the franchisor has the obligation to provide these rights and generally support the franchisee.

The Singer Sewing Machine Company ® is credited with introducing the franchise system back in the 1850s, selling licences to entrepreneurs to distribute patented sewing machines throughout the US. The hamburger restaurant chain Wimpy ® was one of the first Business Format Franchises to set up in the UK in I955. More recently, Travelodge and Dominos Pizza are other examples of businesses that act as franchises.

Why not take our online "Licensing your IP" Healthcheck diagnostic now to see if licenses might be useful in your business

Two pitches were centred around patented inventions: Philharmonic Lights and Postsaver ®. During the Postsaver ® pitch, entrepreneurs Jim and Richard George noted that they have international patent protection for their invention. Patents are territorial rights and a UK patent will only prevent others from manufacturing and selling your invention in the UK. As such, if a business wants to make or sell their invention overseas, they should ensure they have filed for patents in the countries they want protection in. There are several different filing routes for doing this and the IPO can provide information on these routes.

Trade marks and designs are also territorial rights and, like patents, businesses need to apply for these rights in the countries they want protection in. Jim and Richard have a registered community trade mark for Postsaver ® , which gives them trade mark protection in Europe.

A quick patent search shows that Jim and Richard have filed for several patents around their invention, including granted European patent EP 0809560 . This patent is currently in force in a number of countries, including the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Sweden. If anybody tried to make or sell their invention in these countries without their permission they would be infringing their patent.

To apply for a community trade mark or to find out more visit the Office for Harmonization of the Internal Market (OHIM)

If you're thinking about filing for intellectual property protection abroad, we have a series of booklets, or IP primers, which offers information on IP protection in Brazil, China, Korea, India and Vietnam.

That's all for this week! Let us know what you thought about this week's pitches and their IP by dropping us a tweet, we're @The_IPO.

Week 4 in the Den, and the pressure for those brave enough to enter hasn't got any easier. This week we had a mix of inventions, brands, designs and a few curve balls to boot.

First in the Den was a very dapper looking Bob Davies , dressed to impress in his tuxedo. He wanted an investment of £50,000 in exchange for 20% of his business 'Unique Designs UK Ltd '. The creation Bob brought to the Den is protected by a registered design (481Kb).

Essentially, Bob's creation was a transparent cabinet with a powerful fan in its base. Users entered into the cabinet and had to catch soft foam balls that were blown around when the fan was switched on.

Any business that believes it has IP within its products or services, should consider whether they have protected their assets and also exploited them fully through licensing agreements, branding and distribution.

An IP audit of your business will identify what intellectual assets you have. Any future sale of a business will involve the decision as to whether or not to include these intellectual assets as part of the deal, and having an idea of what they are worth to you, or a potential buyer will be useful. Our guide, 'Agreeing a price for IP rights (690Kb)' may help.

Later on in the Den, Fraser Allan pitched his invention called 'SeaSafe®'. We located Patent No. GB2475980 registered for the invention itself, and Trade Mark No. E8771982 for the brand name. The device allows you to stow away valuables in a mini portable safe, that attaches to a sun lounger or similar (for when on holiday on the beach etc).

In the end, the Dragons expressed their frustration at the valuation and Duncan declared himself as out, but not before telling Fraser his invention was "Not worth £3 let alone £3m".

When you have a new invention, brand or design, it is vital that you do your homework to assess its commercial viability. "Is there anything out there like it already?", "How competitive is the marketplace?" And more importantly - "What problem does my creation solve?", or "How desirable will my creation really be?" e.g. - Will it make me any money? The cost in time and effort of securing a patent, trade mark or design right is only worthwhile if the potential to commercially exploit it is likely to exist. It is worth having a read of our guide on 'How and when to use IP'.

Other pitches in the Den included Marcela Flores Newburn with her 'Rico Mexican Kitchen ' range of foods and drinks. In terms of IP, it's not possible for Marcella to protect her recipes with a Patent. However, any recipes she publishes online or in print are protected by copyright. Her brand could also be registered as a trade mark, but due to the word "Rico" meaning "Tasty" in Spanish, our examiners would have to consider that this is a descriptive word. Words that describe a product cannot be trade marked.

DID YOU KNOW? - The recipe for Coca-Cola® . is protected by another form of IP called a Trade Secret. Trade Secrets are a recommended form of protection to use when all other forms of IP are not appropriate, you want to keep something secret, or you want protection to last longer than the life of a patent (patents expire after 20 years).

Finally, Robert Lewis secured a £100,000 investment in his 'RollerSigns' invention (business) from Dragon Peter Jones. The Dragons all agreed that this patented invention WO 2011023998 was good. However, failure to bring evidence of a huge order for his invention, Peter demanded a Dragons' Den first of a 100% stake in Robert's business, dropping to 49% upon confirmation of the order he had referred to.

That's it for this week Dragons' Den & IP blog. See you next week for our latest blog entry.

Week 5 in the Den, and there wasn't as much mention of IP as there has been previously, which highlights the fact that not enough small businesses in the United Kingdom (UK) are aware of IP. If you are unaware of IP and its benefits, try our IP Healthcheck tool to see how IP can relate to your business and help you understand how IP rights can prove an asset to your company.

First to catch the Dragons attention was Kate Castle from Winchester, who in 2008, whilst camping and desperate for the toilet, came up with the idea of a lightweight portable toilet called Boginabag® .

Kate is already aware of IP and mentions in her pitch that she has Patent (GB2471733) and Trade Mark (2534438) protection for her product. She also mentions that via her website, she has taken many orders including a large order from a company in France. As Kate is selling her products in other countries, to fully protect her product, she would need to apply for a patent in France and any other country she was thinking of trading in.

Applying in Europe using the European Patent Convention will protect your patent in more than 30 countries, whilst applying internationally using the Patent Co-operation Treaty (PCT) can protect your patent in up to 144 countries. A quick and free search of the GB Esp@cenet search facility shows that Kate has already applied in France and a number of other countries via the PCT route (WO2011004174 ).

Kate's confidence in her product led to several offers from the Dragons which ended with Kate agreeing to a 30% share of her business for £50,000, with Theo (her preferred Dragon).

Second to catch the attention of the Dragons was Henry Buckley and J J Harding from West London who pitched a new way of marketing. Jogpost® hires extremely fit and healthy people who jog and post your marketing materials.

Although the concept of posting material is not patentable, the name Jogpost® could be registered as a Trade Mark. A quick search of the Trade Mark's register shows that Henry and JJ have already successfully registered their Trade Mark (2533107).

Henry mentions that they would like to take their service Europe-wide. If Jogpost didn't want any other business outside the UK using their trading name and providing the same service, they will need to apply in those countries as Trade mark protection, like patent protection, is territorial.

To protect your Trade Mark in Europe, you can apply for a Community Trade Mark (CTM) via the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (OHIM). Protecting your Trade Mark internationally can be done by using the Madrid Protocol via the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO).

An impressive and confident pitch led to Peter, Hilary, Duncan and Debra making some very generous offers. Eventually, Henry and JJ agreed to Debra's offer of 20% of their business for £50,000.

George Allan from South London was unsuccessful with the Dragons; he presented them with a board game called Flaggo® . A new board game could potentially be protected by several forms of IP. Remember IP cannot protect ideas, but it can protect the physical realisation of those ideas.

Although George was unsuccessful in the Den, he was successful in registering his Trade Mark  (2428841) in 2007.

That's all for this week. See you back here next week for more Dragons' Den IP.

Over half way through this series, and already we have seen some superb examples of British innovation, branding and design. This week in the Den was no different, although some were better investment opportunities than others, as the Dragons were making loud and clear.

Andy Bates was the only successful entrepreneur this week. He was in the Den with his business AB Performance Ltd to try and persuade the Dragons to part with £50,000 of their money for a 10% stake.

As well as the business name, which could be registered as a trade mark, AB Performance has its own website that is a showcase of what products and services it offers. Many business owners rely on the creative talents of a web designer (Design Company) to create an enticing and engaging website.

Did you know that when commissioning a website to be designed for you, even if the website is about you and/or your business, and you have paid the designer for the work they have created, the copyright of the website's design (a sum of its layout, colours, fonts etc) is automatically retained by the designer?

Should you wish to alter the website later (yourself or via a different designer), you will need to seek the permission of the original designer who owns the copyright. To avoid this, it is recommended that the contract between you (your business) and the web designer includes a specific clause that states the ownership of the website design is passed over to the business owner on completion. It should also state who is licensed to use the copyright material that is to be created.

Back in the Den, Andy delivered a great pitch that struck a chord with the Dragons'. He was made two offers by Duncan Bannatyne and Peter Jones (a car enthusiast). Andy went with Peter's offer of £50,000 for 35% of his business.

Karen Ho and To Chan were first up in the den, but were unsuccessful with their business Aqua Sheko ® - A fish spa (pedicure treatment) that they were seeking £150,000 investment for, offering a 30% equity stake in return. Deborah was quick to point out that anybody could copy their idea.

There are several fish spas already available on the market and methods of doing business are not patentable in the UK. In order to ensure that they maintain a leading position in the market, the team will need to build a strong brand using their community trade mark (Trade Mark: E9359936).

Twins Polly and Charlotte Vickery were hoping for £65,000 for a 20% share in their fashion range Brat & Suzie , although they too failed to secure an investment. As Peter noted, clothing designs can be copied. To protect their designs, Polly and Charlotte could file for a UK registered design for UK protection. This would protect the appearance or “look” of the whole or part of the product, based on the lines, contours, colours, shape, texture or materials it has.

Alternatively, they could file for a registered community design which would protect their design in all 27 EU member states.

Andy Bates' AB Performance business could also benefit from exploring design rights for the cars he creates from scratch.

Find out if design rights are applicable to your business by taking the IP Healthcheck which has a designs diagnostic section.

So, a tough week in the Den this week, with only 1 venture managing to secure an investment from the Dragons. How will the brave entrepreneurs fare next week? Make sure you watch the show, and then come back here to read about all the IP we spot.

We are now up to episode 7 and already, we have seen some great creative and innovative pitches in the Den. We have also seen some rather interesting items too!

First up this week was Nick Cross, Richard Hadden and Sebastian Stoddart with their 'barMate ' product, which automates pint-pouring allowing bar staff to serve more quickly.

The Dragons asked its creators whether it had patent protection, and Richard replied that a patent for a device which angled the glass (to avoid froth), and then gradually reduced the angle until it triggered a valve to stop the flow before overfilling, had already been granted.

This is significant in that a) it protects the unique features of the invention in a way that competitors would find it difficult to circumvent, and b) the patent is not merely 'pending' (such that the scope of the monopoly could still be narrowed and its associated value decreased) but actually in force right now. This reassures investors that they are buying intellectual property which won't suddenly drop in value if it's found not to be as innovative as the inventors first thought.

Deborah Meaden then rather astutely asked about ownership of the patent, and whether it would be wholly transferred to the business, which the owner Nick confirmed. It is vital to establish precisely who owns any intellectual property essential to a business, since this is the source of many court cases.

In particular, Section 39 of the Patents Act (626Kb) (page 30) requires employees to surrender claims to ownership of their invention if it was made "in the course of their normal duties". Even if this were not the case for Nick (an architect, not a beer pump designer), as founding partner he would be considered to have a "special obligation" to the new business, such that he would find it difficult to withhold ownership of the patent for himself personally.

Finally, it is worth noting that Richard specified that this was a UK patent only. This means that their monopoly only extends to making, selling or using the device in the UK, since they can no longer seek to extend their protection to Europe or elsewhere. For example, they can prevent unlicensed exports from the UK, but cannot prevent a French manufacturer making and selling their device in France.

Why not use our IP Healthcheck to run a patent diagnostic on your business? The confidential report will give you some next steps to think about and act on.

Next up, Bola Lafe who presented his safety tweezers 'Cleebo ', designed to safely remove mucus from infant noses. Duncan dismissed the product as lacking innovation ("S'not new") and open to exploitation by copycat manufacturers. However, since we didn't find out during the programme whether Bola had applied for any patent protection or, if he did, whether the subsequent search turned up anything similar, this may have been premature. A quick online search shows that Bola has applied for a patent for his invention, see Patent Number GB2457024.

By going on our Ipsum service, you can look at the search report for this application. The search report shows the results of a search by a patent examiner to find devices that are similar to Bola's. Any documents that are found during the search are used by an examiner to decide whether or not the invention is novel and inventive.

Find out more about the patent examination by reading our guide on what happens after you apply.

That's it for this patent-filled week inside the Den! Let us know what you thought about tonight's inventions and businesses by following us on Twitter, we're @The_IPO, and dropping us a tweet!

Dr Mark Lewney - Patent Examiner

This week saw a great deal of discussion of IP by the Dragons, especially in the area of patents.

However, first up the stairs were Ryan and Liam with their new record label, which would instead rely on the protection provided by copyright. This includes the right to control the copying and use of a musical recording for example, allowing the track to be played on the radio or selling a download of it. Unlike the 20 year term of a patent, copyright protection sound recordings lasts for 50 years (soon to be extended to 70). Performers also have rights in their performance and this has the same term of protection. The music and lyrics will also be protected for 70 years after the death of the writers.

The Dragons clearly thought that the deal Ryan and Liam had negotiated with artists was a good one and Duncan Bannatyne ended up with 79% of the company. Two questions spring to mind: a) Was the deal a good one by industry standards? And b) Why do even Duncan's new business partners pronounce his surname "Ballantyne"?

The real IP focus of this episode, however, came in discussing the patent application for Steve and Michelle's "WingZ ", an item of clothing for covering the upper arms while allowing a low neckline and backline. The patent application has yet to be published so we can't show you exactly what it includes.

The Dragons were keen to discuss the IP behind this invention. Peter suggested that even if it were successful, people would simply copy it, while Duncan questioned whether or not it would be patentable in the first place saying "it's a piece of cloth". A quick check of the ECLA patent database shows that there are over 28,000 entries for brassieres alone!

Steve replied that he had applied for a patent for an item of clothing comprising a wing-supporting band which passed under the bust, and that the application is currently being processed. That means a patent examiner is doing a detailed search for technical documents which will show if the invention has been done before or is an obvious development of what is already known. The application will then be subjected to a full technical and legal examination, to make sure it meets all the requirements for a patent. Duncan also suggested that it would inevitably be subject to invalidity proceedings, but there did not seem to be a reason why he thought this invention should be particularly objectionable.

Finally, Deborah Meaden warned them that she had seen people spend £50,000 on patent fees without even getting a patent. If Steve really did file himself, however, he will have paid a mere £280 (£230 if he filed electronically) for a granted patent, and will only have to start paying annually (starting at £70) to maintain his patent 5 years after he first applied. The sums Deborah warns of generally accrue when you are paying professional patent attorneys to secure protection in Europe or the US, not when you are only pursuing UK protection by writing and prosecuting the application yourself. However, note that these experienced legal professionals will ensure that your protection is as strong as possible, and you generally wouldn't consider having a go at writing your own business contracts or conducting other legal proceedings, would you?

Want to find out about the IP covered in tonight's episode and more? Why not come along to the IPO's free seminar on intellectual property at the Newcastle Centre for Life on the 27th September. If you can't make that one, we run lots of events around the country throughout the year. Take a look at our events calendar to find events near you.

That's all for this week! Follow us on twitter and let us know your thoughts on tonight's episode, we're @The_IPO!

Dr Mark Lewney - Patent Examiner

This is the penultimate episode in the current series but the mood is as tense as ever inside the Den.

First to brave the Dragons was Michelle Savage from Bury. She was looking for £50,000 for a 20% stake in her business Savvylash®, a tool to separate eyelashes after mascara has been applied. This device has been granted a patent (GB 2411831 ). Although Michelle delivered a confident pitch, she ultimately left the den empty-handed.

Duncan summarised "I personally think this is not an idea that's ever going to make you any money." As Mark Lewney touched upon in last week's blog post, the patent process can be expensive if you use an IP specialist, bearing in mind that a patent is only as good as the way it is drafted. It's therefore really important for anybody thinking of applying for a patent to decide whether or not their idea is commercially viable. For example, it wouldn't really be worth spending £10,000 to get a patent that will only generate you £5,000 worth of sales.

It's also important to do your research. Deborah pointed out that the major cosmetics brands all focus their innovation on the shape of the wand, rather than develop and produce two separate gizmos. If there is no call for a separate tool it is unlikely that it will succeed in the marketplace, regardless of how innovative it is. Of course, it could be that Michelle has spotted a gap in the market and is providing a product that consumers want. However, we would always advise that you do your market research and investigate what your customers want before you invest thousands of pounds in IP protection and product development.

Want to know how much your IP is worth? Read our guide to agreeing a price for your IP rights (690Kb).

Next up in the Den was Julian Lipton asking for a £100,000 investment in his business "The Nuttery", developing and selling squirrel-proof bird feeders. The family-run business has been trading for 20 years and is built around their patent for a feeder having a cage within a cage. After a grilling by the Dragons, Julian stated that his patent (GB 2275408 ) is due to expire in two years and that they were in the process of redesigning a new range as a result.

Upon mention of this, Theo said "You're now re-designing because, in two years time, the business you're asking me to invest £100,000 in loses its intellectual rights. That would make it very difficult for me to invest in you."

Patent protection lasts twenty years and, once Julian's current patent expires, anybody is allowed to make or sell his device without requiring permission. Julian is also prevented from filing for a second patent for the same device.

Not all patents last the full twenty years. Once a patent is granted, it is the applicant's responsibility to pay the renewal fees to ensure it is kept "in force". If they fail to continue paying these fees, the patent eventually ceases.

Although Julian's current product is coming out of patent protection, he has recognised the value of IP and is taking steps to re-design his products to keep his family business going. If he files for patents for any of his new products, he will need to ensure that they are both novel and inventive over other feeders that currently exist. Perhaps he could look at developing US5996127 .

If you'd like to develop your understanding of IP and commercialisation why not sign up for our IP Masterclass in London, taking place on 18-20 October?

That's all for this episode but don't forget to read our last blog next week!

Tonight saw the last episode of the current series and our last Dragons' Den and IP blog of the year! What a great episode to end an exciting and IP-intensive series!

First to face the Dragons were James Eadon and Chris Ollivier from the East Midlands. Their innovative idea was a toy they call the "Culica^® " in which they sought £80,000 for 10% of their business. After an entertaining pitch the Dragons went on to briefly test the toy but were less than impressed.

From an IP perspective, the technical features of the toy may benefit from the protection of a patent but unfortunately a scheme, rule or method for performing a mental act, playing a game or doing business, is excluded from patentability in accordance with Section 1(2)(c) of The Patents Act (626Kb). A search of the European Patent Office's esp@cenet database shows that the pair have filed for a patent for their device GB 2470179 .

A strong brand identity is also vital to toy manufacturers and this is something the pair will need to bear in mind if their product is to succeed - a quick search of our online trade mark database shows that Mattel have 19 registered trade marks for "Barbie", the oldest being from 1962 and the most recent from 2008! However, our IP-savvy duo has already taken the first step by registering their trade mark in Europe (E8197741).

Unfortunately for James and Chris, the Dragons were unimpressed with their new gizmo and they left with the Den with no investment offered.

Next up was 25 year old Tim Smith from Lancashire who hoped to convince the Dragons to part with a hefty £300,000 for 10% of the family owned Redfoot^® (TM 2429505). If successful, it would be the biggest cash investment ever achieved in the Den.

Redfoot^® have a world-wide patent application WO/2008/093035 for their split sole which allows a shoe to fold in half. In previous blogs, we've mentioned that registered designs are particularly applicable to items of clothing, as they protect the outward look of the product. This is also true of this invention, but the technical aspect of the sole means that the shoe could also be patentable. It is always worth remembering that many devices are protectable using more than one intellectual property right.

However, not even a confident pitch and impressive sales figures could encourage the Dragons to part with their money.

Last of the budding entrepreneurs was Helen Waterston who wanted £70,000 for 10% of her business. Her innovative idea was a kitchen gadget called the "Roast Cosy^® " (TM 2478239). A key element to Helen's product is that it removes the need for tin foil, making it environmentally friendly. This could make it an ideal candidate for our Green Channel patent acceleration service, which we talked about in Episode 1's blog post.

A quick search fails to show any published patent applications for Helen's device. This means that either she hasn't filed for a patent or that her application has yet to be published. Helen mentioned that she located a potential manufacturer in China. As we've discussed in previous posts, it is important that she ensures that she has IP protection there too if she is to manufacture there, otherwise competitors in China will be able to make and sell her product legally.

After an impressive pitch, Peter and Deborah offered her a deal, which she accepted. However, given the Dragons’ previous IP-conscious behaviour, they may be less keen to complete the deal without assurances that her invention has the proper IP protection.

Although this is the last blog post for the time being, there are still plenty of opportunities for you to learn more about IP. You can follow us on twitter @The_IPO to keep up to date with the latest IP developments and subscribe to our monthly e-newsletter, IP Insight, to read informative articles from the office, IP professionals and entrepreneurs with firsthand IP experience.