Following on from the disaster that was the first task (spoiler: the women’s team lost the first task and two members of the team got the axe), the remaining contestants continued on their quest to secure Lord Sugar’s backing.

The contestants are now in their new digs, which they will be inhabiting for the next 12 weeks, and the second episode started with the classic 4:30 am wake-up call informing them they need to be at some location in London and that the cars would be arriving in 20 minutes. Now, I can suspend my disbelief over some things, but after watching this show for many years, I am beginning to have my doubts about this opening sequence of events. We see a shot of the outside of the contestant’s house when the phone starts ringing, and it is full-on nighttime. Then, by the time they leave (supposedly 20 minutes later), it is bright daylight, and all the contestants are fully dressed, groomed, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed without even a trace of panic or stress. I suspect some TV magic (editing) might be happening.

The Second Task

The contestants were asked to go to the Paddington Bear Experience (maybe at 5 am, more likely closer to 10 am) to be briefed for their second task. This week, they were charged with creating a children’s book aimed at 4 to 6-year-olds. The physical book was also to be accompanied by an audiobook version. Once the book was created, they had to pitch it to a number of retailers. The team that sold the most units of their book would win.

Simple, what could possibly go wrong? Short answer: a lot. The project managers for both teams this week were selected primarily on the basis that they had children, which, of course, makes them experts at writing books. One team decided that the story should revolve around a character in space needing to poop (this was the team comprising solely of men, make of that what you will). The other team went in the direction of a story to comfort kids who may be scared of starting school; their story had a zebra with colourful stripes as their main character.

Personally, I love it when the teams are tasked with creating something for children. The contestants always underestimate the intelligence of children, and they are promptly humbled when they have to do consumer feedback. Children are brutally honest, and the kids used for the focus groups in this episode were no exception, with one 5-year-old bluntly saying “no” when asked if they wanted to listen to the audiobook again.  There was something so perfect about the camera cutting from the enthusiastic contestants gushing over the (frankly, dreadful) books they created to the bored, disappointed looks on the kids’ faces.

There were many elements to this particular task that had a connection to IP. The storybook, its related artwork, and the audiobook all come under copyright and related rights.

Copyright and Related Rights

Copyright is a subject I have discussed in previous blog posts[1],[2], mainly in relation to copyright expiring on well-loved literary characters and these characters (now in the public domain) being used in unusual ways (mainly being turned into villains of slasher horror movies).

Copyright[3] protects original literary and artistic works and is automatic upon the creation of such works. Therefore, the books that the contestants created this week are, technically, copyright-protected. Copyright protection also extends to music, paintings, and sculptures as well as computer programs and electronic databases, among other things.

In the UK, you do not need to formally register for copyright protection. However, in other jurisdictions, for example, the USA, you can. It is advisable to affix authorship to your work. For instance, on any webpages you have created for your business, you should include © YEAR YOURCOMPANY to establish your rights over the webpage created. In general, the owner of the copyright-protected work is the author or creator of the work. Ownership of copyright-protected works can be transferred or assigned to a different owner, if required.

Depending on the jurisdiction, the duration of protection provided by copyright varies. In the UK, copyright lasts for the life of the author plus an additional 70 years after they pass. If we take Paddington Bear, for example, he was first introduced to the world in 1958 in the book ‘A Bear Called Paddington’ by the author Michael Bond[4], who died in 2017. Therefore, the original form of Paddington from 1958 is protected until 2087 (at which point, we should expect a Paddington-themed horror movie, given what happened to Winnie-the-Pooh).

Related rights are a set of rights that neighbour copyright. They offer a similar level of exclusivity as copyright, but they do not protect the actual works themselves. Instead, related rights are in place to protect the interests of the people and companies who bring the artistic works to the public. For example, the producers who helped the contestants in last week’s episode of The Apprentice to produce and record the audiobook accompaniments would have legal protection established by related rights. The rights of producers are recognised due to the creative, financial and organisational resources that were required to make the sound recording (for example, the audiobook) available to the public. Related rights also protect the rights of performers and the rights of broadcasters (for example, the BBC). Related rights have a shorter duration than copyright. Under the Rome Convention[5], the duration is only 20 years from the end of the year in which either the broadcast took place, the recording was made, or the performance took place. Under the TRIPS Agreement[6], the rights of producers and performers can last for 50 years from the date of the recording or performance.

Next Time

Next week, the contestants have to cook and sell food. Don’t worry, I am sure I will be able to find an IP connection in that episode somewhere!

 

[1]https://www.scintilla-ip.com/i-know-your-ip-expired-last-summer/

[2] https://www.scintilla-ip.com/i-still-know-your-ip-expired-last-year/

[3] https://www.wipo.int/publications/en/details.jsp?id=4081

[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paddington_Bear

[5] https://www.wipo.int/en/web/treaties/ip/rome/index

[6] https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/trips_e/trips_e.htm

 

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