Editing Peter Rabbit (section)

== Merchandising ==

Potter created a soft doll depicting Peter Rabbit and a Peter Rabbit board game shortly after the tale's first publication.<ref name="Times">{{cite news |last=Wagner |first=Erica |title=Peter Rabbit blazed a trail still well trod |url=https://www.thetimes.com/culture/books/article/peter-rabbit-blazed-a-trail-still-well-trod-c9zdfx2c6nk |date=23 December 2009 |work=[[The Times]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=The Game of Peter Rabbit |url=https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1346761/the-game-of-peter-rabbit-board-game-the-traditional-games/ |access-date=30 October 2022 |agency=V&A|quote=On 7th December 1904 she submitted her idea for a board game 'The Game of Peter Rabbit' to her publishers, Frederick Warne and Co, who brought out their own version in 1919}}</ref> The character has been depicted in a multitude of spinoff merchandise such as porcelain figurines, painting books and dishes.<ref name="Times"/> 

Peter Rabbit was the first soft toy to be [[Intellectual Property Office (United Kingdom)|patented]], in 1903, making Peter the oldest [[Brand licensing|licensed character]].<ref name="Times"/><ref name="Smithsonian"/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.peterrabbit.com/potters-world-life.asp |title=Beatrix Potter's Life |publisher=Peter Rabbit |access-date=8 January 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120117072323/http://www.peterrabbit.com/potters-world-life.asp |archive-date=17 January 2012 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> The following year they went on sale and were mass-produced by [[Steiff]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Steiff Peter Rabbit 1904 Replica |url=https://www.steiffteddybears.co.uk/steiff-limited-edition-teddy-bears-range/steiff-peter-rabbit-1904-replica--402142.htm |access-date=12 February 2024 |website=Steiffteddybears.co.uk}}</ref> [[Harrods]] department store in London has been selling it since at least 1910, when toys of Potter characters first appeared in their catalogues.<ref>{{cite news |title=Peter Rabbit hops into Harrods in film affiliation |url=https://www.luxurydaily.com/peter-rabbit-hops-into-harrods-in-film-affiliation/ |date=March 13, 2018 |first1=Sarah |last1=Jones |access-date=11 May 2023 |work=Luxury Daily}}</ref> The British publisher [[Frederick Warne & Co.|Frederick Warne & Co]] owns the trademark rights of the Beatrix Potter characters.<ref>{{cite press release| url= http://www.prnewswire.co.uk/cgi/news/release?id=107283 |publisher= Frederick Warne & Co |title= Frederick Warne applauds the Beijing Xicheng District Administration of Industry and Commerce's commitment to the protection of international intellectual property rights |website=PR Newswire UK |place= London |date=30 August 2003 |access-date=8 January 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120523125526/http://www.prnewswire.co.uk/cgi/news/release?id=107283 |archive-date= May 23, 2012 }}</ref> <!--However, most of the stories are in the US [[public domain]], as they were published before 1923.--><!--All the stories are now out of copyright, as Potter died in 1943.-->

The Peter Rabbit (rather than other Beatrix Potter characters) stories and merchandise are very popular in Japan: many Japanese tourists visit the [[Lake District]] after becoming familiar with Potter's work at an early age at school. There is an accurate [[Hill Top, Cumbria#Replica|replica of Potter's house]] and a theme park in Japan, and a series of Mr. McGregor's gardens in one of the largest banks. Merchandisers in Japan estimate that 80% of the population have heard of Peter Rabbit.<ref>{{cite web|last=Williams |first=Francesca |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cumbria-24625202 |title=Peter Rabbit: Why the Japanese love Beatrix Potter, Francesca Williams| publisher= BBC News  |date=13 November 2013 |access-date=3 January 2014}}</ref>