The UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO) has welcomed a trend in patent applications from January to March this year which saw 30% of filings come from individual inventors. UKIPO citied the popularity of TV shows such as BBC2’s Dragons' Den – in which aspiring inventors must try to obtain backing from a panel of entrepreneurs – for generating a grassroots interest in garage-level R&D. According to figures, in the first three months of 2007, 1800 private individuals filed for patents: a proportion that indicates the UK is becoming more conscious of its imaginative potential.

The Office gave its assessment in a 4 June press release timed to coincide with the launch of its Wallace & Gromit-fronted campaign, Cracking Ideas, in which the slapstick-happy, plasticine duo will take the message of innovation to the UK’s youngest schoolchildren. Westbury Primary School, in Wallace & Gromit creator Nick Park’s native locale of Bristol, played host to the unveiling of Cracking Ideas, with the emphasis placed firmly on ‘go-it-alone’ successes such as Frank Hornby and Trevor Baylis.

UK Science and Innovation minister, Malcolm Wicks, said: ‘Britain remains a nation of inventors, taking their ingenuity from the garden shed to commercial success. Entrepreneurs and the passion of those who appear on shows like Dragons' Den can really inspire innovation.

‘Some of the big inventions we will see later this century may be in the minds and imaginations of young children today,’ he continued. ‘Cracking Ideas is an effective way of engaging children in innovation, tied into the National Curriculum. Teachers will have the resources and plans through the website to help them get involved. We are moving towards an innovation economy and this is an excellent opportunity to get children interested at an early stage.’

Campaign partner, Nick Park, explained his characters’ willingness to help: ‘Inventiveness has always been central to Wallace's character and I have sketch books full of Wallace's eccentric inventions that have never made it to the screen. It is fantastic that Wallace & Gromit can excite young kids about innovation in the classroom.’

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