As the summer holidays come to an end, a new school year begins and the nights start drawing in, this ‘summer girl’ over here can’t help but feel a little blue. So, tonight’s episode of Dragons’ Den was just what I needed to lift my spirits.
I just love a happy ending and there were plenty tonight, as the Dragons invested with their hearts and not just their heads. And as always, there were lots of innovative ideas and intellectual property (IP) innovations to spark my interest.
Playing the IP gameFirst to enter the Den was Glyn Richards with Fingagolf. It's a miniature game of golf played by placing a plastic golf club onto your finger and hitting the ball around the artificial course in as few moves as possible.
Glyn was asking for £30k in return for a 15% share of his business.
It was no surprise that golf enthusiasts Peter Jones and Steven Bartlett were eager to put the game to the test. Then it was on to the all-important questions.
When Jenna Meek asked Glyn if there were any similar games on the market, he explained that there were other finger-golf games out there, but none of them had an actual golf club that fits onto the finger.
As the Dragons’ eyes lit up at the uniqueness of Glyn’s game, I hoped he had taken steps to protect his idea.
Using our ‘search for a trade mark’ tool, I was soon able to locate a registered trade mark for ‘Fingagolf’, owned by Glyn’s company, Hamnashida Games Ltd.
A trade mark is an essential asset when building a brand as it protects your product or business name from being used by any competitors.
You can register words, sounds, logos, colours, or any combination of these, but there are restrictions. For example, your trade mark cannot describe the goods or services it relates to. Whilst ‘Finger golf’ would be deemed too descriptive, ‘Fingagolf’ is a made up word and has been accepted. However, it is worth noting that all trade mark applications are considered on their own merits.
Designed to a teeAs highlighted earlier, the finger golf club is what makes Glyn’s game stand out, so it is sensible to try and protect that element to prevent others from copying it. It’s reassuring therefore to see that Glyn has several registered designs for his unique golf club, including a right and left-handed version.
A registered design protects the overall visual appearance of something. It can include the physical shape, configuration (how different parts of a design are arranged together), decoration or colour, or even the pattern.
Design registration can last for up to 25 years, although you must renew your designs every 5 years to keep them protected.
You can view all six of Glyn’s registered designs on our designs database by searching ‘Hamnashida Games Ltd’.
Once the Dragons heard about the different add-ons to the game, including different courses and scenery packs, they were all lining up for a shot to go into business with Glyn. After offers from three of the Dragons, Glyn eventually accepted golf mad Peters offer of 30k for 30%. Leaving Peter feeling like he hit ‘a hole in one’.
Designed to make a differenceSticking with the subject of designs, Sam Mabley came into the Den looking for a 10k investment in exchange for 2% of his business, Yes Friends.
Yes Friends is a range of ethical, sustainable, yet affordable clothing that doesn’t compromise on quality. Made in environmentally friendly factories that pay the garment workers a fair wage, Sam is on a mission to transform the fashion industry.
A quick trade mark search tells me that Sam has protected the business name ‘Yes Friends’ with a registered trade mark, so I was keen to see if he had also registered any of his designs.
Whilst Sam hasn’t formally registered his designs, his creations will still be eligible for unregistered design rights. Unregistered design right is an automatic protection, so you don’t have to apply for it, and the length of protection depends on the type of design you have.
Because the fashion industry is ever changing and evolving, some designers prefer to rely on unregistered design rights as their designs are likely to change quickly and there is not always time to apply for a registered design.
However, there is no official register for these rights, so should you need to prove a design is yours, you will need to provide evidence of when it was created by you. One option could be to get signed and dated copies of your design drawings or photos certified and kept by a solicitor or intellectual property attorney.
The best fitAfter a careful examination of Sam’s clothing range, including a sniff test from Deborah Meaden, fashion guru Touker Suleyman was keen to find out more about the manufacturing of the garments.
Thankfully, Sam held his own against the Dragons’ questions and it was soon on to the crucial offer stage.
Without hesitation, sustainability champion Deborah laid her cards on the table and offered Sam double the investment (20k), without upping her stake in the business from the original 2% offered:
‘I am absolutely your perfect Dragon…I really want to be your investor.’
Although Touker also went on to make Sam an offer, there was no matching Deborah’s generous proposal and Sam gladly accepted, leaving me all warm and fuzzy inside.
If you have been inspired by tonight’s episode and want to find out more about IP and how to protect your creations, check out our free Get IP rights step-by-step guide.
Disclaimer:
The purpose of the IPO's Dragons' Den IP blog is to help identify the IP in entrepreneurs’ pitches and highlight how IP works, or could work, in the real-life examples featured. IPO’s authorship of this blog does not constitute its endorsement or sponsorship of any products, individuals or businesses referenced within it.
https://dragonsden.blog.gov.uk/2026/09/10/dragons-den-ip-blog-series-23-episode-11/
seen at 21:39, 10 September in Dragons' Den: the Intellectual Property blog.