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Doctor Who writer recalls unmade Christopher Eccleston episode – with familiar monster
(www.radiotimes.com)
this post was submitted on 28 Feb 2025
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Wait, how could they not have the rights to the Daleks? Isn't all of this owned by the BBC? I realize things very recently got complicated with Disney, but this was long before that.
No, in Classic Who many of the writers retained at least some rights to the creatures they created. Terry Nation held the rights to the Dalek character, while the BBC holds the rights to the Dalek design.
So if the BBC wants to make a Dalek episode, they need to get permission for the character from the Nation family (Terry himself has passed away.) If the Nation family wanted to do a spinoff with the Daleks (as Terry himself tried to do in the late 60s,) they would need the BBC’s permission to use the same design.
The copyright for the Daleks is held by the estate of their creator Terry Nation. They license it to the BBC.
Edit: This article seems to sum it up pretty well.
An absolutely fascinating read, even if some important details have been lost to time. I suppose it serves as a cautionary tale going forward.