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It's Not a Police Box, It's a Tardis

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the british-sci-fi-meets-copyright-law dept.

xA40D writes "The BBC is reporting that they've won the battle with the Metropolitan Police over the trademark police box, more commonly known as a Tardis: 'arbitrator Shaun Sherlock remarked that even if the police had built up any reputation, it would have only been in the area of policing and law enforcement and would not have extended into the goods and services which the BBC had applied to use it for.'"

5 of 236 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Heh by Kwikymart · · Score: 4, Interesting

    The one thing that bugs me about this is that why does a government organization that does not take part in any trade, own the trademark on something?

    Maybe if they developed profiling software or an efficient billyclub or something (even then, that is more of a patent area), but I really think the police should be the last people getting a trademark. If I lived in the UK, yes, I would be uber-pissed at such idiocy. I hate the attitude of cops in general. Damn cops!

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    Buying a Dell computer is equivalent to dropping the soap in a prison shower.
  2. TARDIS spotted in the wild by Monty+Worm · · Score: 3, Interesting
    "I bear in mind that for most of the period since the police call box was taken out of service, the only sight the public at large would have had of this item of street furniture has been in the TV programme Dr Who, provided by the BBC where it is a Tardis, a fictional time travelling machine with the external appearance of a police box," ruled Mr Sherlock.

    Eh? If it was taken out of service, how did I manage to get a photo taken of me next to one? For the excessively keen, this TARDIS is outside Earls Court Underground Station, in London, England.

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    ... and today's pet project has ... been discarded for lack of time.
  3. Re:If the BBC had lost... by Quatermass · · Score: 2, Interesting
    You'd have to go quite far back in time as the Police box came into existence in the 1930s!

    Doctor Who started in 1963.

    :-)

    Strangely enough old Police box models designed for use on railway models are quite collectable to Dr. Who fans.

    I remember being told by a fan that the original hollow black iron models (about 3 inches high) are worth a good few quid whilst the blue ones are only good for a fiver.

    Amazing how anything Who related is worth money.

    I've still got my square CD of Dr. Who music (serial #2) that I bought donkey years ago at a charity auction. Its supppose to be worth a fair bit to music and Who collectors. :-)

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    Stuart http://stuarthalliday.com/
  4. Re:Heh by jweatherley · · Score: 3, Interesting

    There are still some (non functional) police boxes in Glasgow. There's one at the end of Byres Road which was in a bit of a state the last time I saw it. You could certainly piss in there after visiting all the pubs in Byres Road on a Friday night as the door was kicked in.

    There is also a police box in the middle of Buchannan Street. It has a small window and if you look through it you see an infinite space full of fibre optic lights - maybe that one does work!

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    Reverse outsourcing: it's the future
  5. Re:Not just in London... by stevey · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Yeah there are at least two restored ones in Edinburgh, and several others which have been refitted as refitted as small coffee shops