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Intellectual Property Office drops, er, patently cool cartoon to teach kids about trademarks

Hey, Reg can entertain children. IP freely, anyone, IP freely?

How do you get seven-year-olds interested in intellectual property? Anyway, indeed, why would you want to? No matter, the UK's Intellectual Property Office has launched a cartoon answering the question no one has ever asked.

By relaunching the cartoon Nancy and the Meerkats, the story of would-be pop star Nancy, a French bulldog, the IPO hopes to get the message into primary schools that intellectual property theft is not cool.

Apparently learning to "respect" copyrights and trademarks is a "key life skill".

The five-minute snippets follow the fortunes of the singer and her hated rival, er, Kitty Perry, while teaching kids important life lessons about the importance of choosing an original band name and registering it as a trademark.

In one episode Nancy's friend Ed Shearling (geddit?) is told that if he wants to create a band logo he'll need to register with the IPO and then pay a small fee. All very useful life skillz for seven- to 11-year-olds.

Catherine Davies, head of the IPO's education outreach department, told the Beeb that IP is a "complex subject" for small children and something of a challenge to make accessible and entertaining.

She said: "In today's digital environment, even very young people are IP consumers, accessing online digital content independently and regularly.

"They are creators of IP, and many will leave school or university to take up careers in industries that depend upon inventiveness and creativity.

"A basic understanding of IP and a respect for others' IP rights is therefore a key life skill."

The IPO is not the first government agency to try to teach kids that crime doesn't pay.

Back in 2016, HMRC produced a Junior Tax Facts video for eight- to 11-year-olds, explaining the importance of paying VAT... ®

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