Friday 15 August 2008

BBC monsters Dr Who fan for creating internet knitting patterns of the sci-fi series' characters

(Source:Mail Online)

At first glance it is hard to tell what they are.

But these knitted blobs have landed one unsuspecting Dr Who fan in hot water with the BBC.

The woman, known as Mazzmatazz, created step-by-step patterns to making your own Dr Who monsters.

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Scary knitwear: The knitted version of an Adipose (left) and the real thing

But unfortunately her designs for baby Adipose - the blob-like creatures made from human fat that featured in the first episode of the new series - and the sorrowful squid-faced Ood, along with the Face of Bo, have created a battle that the Doctor himself might relish solving - the Knitting Wars.

After her Dr Who patterns were discovered on the internet, Mazzmatazz was sent a letter by the BBC demanding she remove all the designs from her website.

The wrangle has caused consternation in the world of knitting, where it seems a surprising number of knitters are also Dr Who devotees.

A quick search on the internet reveals that the Adipose design in particular went down in a storm.

And for Mazz, who has been identified only by her nickname, that was the problem.

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Replica: The knitted version of an Ood (left) which is one of the baddies in the hit series and the real squid-faced humanoid

It was when copies of her free patterns, and some knitted creations, ended up for sale on internet auction site eBay that the BBC stepped in.

They sent Mazz a letter, stating: "We note that you are supplying Dr Who items, and using trade marks and copyright owned by BBC.

"You have not been given permission to use the Dr Who brand and we ask that you remove from your site any designs connected with Dr Who.

"Please reply acknowledging receipt of this email, and confirm that you will remove the Dr Who items as requested."

To the disappointment of her knitting circle of fans Mazz has removed the patterns.

On her website, now stripped of the alien designs for fear of legal action, she said: "I'm just an ordinary fan, who happens to like knitting and Sci-fi, and everything has just gone a bit crazy."

She added: "The patterns I created, inspired by Doctor Who, were never for sale - they were shared under Creative Commons licenses, to prevent resale, so that other fans could enjoy and share the fun too.

"All I want is for the BBC to be fair...To single me out for breach of copyright seems more like an act of making an example than a good faith defence of their copyright."

Apologising to fans, she said they should petition the BBC to make them relent. Becky Hogge, executive director of the Open Rights Group, which helped to publicise the case, said it illustrated the problems with copyright law.

"This case illustrates what's wrong with copyright law in the digital age, it can't really discern between a breach by people sharing knitting patterns of popular characters or a guy on a market stall selling knock-off handbags."

She said Mazz had not been selling either patterns or dolls and her activities had not harmed the BBC's commercial interests.

Dr Andres Guadamuz, a law lecturer at Edinburgh University, has been following the 'knitting wars'.

Last night he said he understood why the BBC wanted to defend its intellectual property and that, on the face of it, there did appear to be a copyright infringement.

"TV characters do have copyright," he said.

But he said it was possible that the designs demonstrated enough creativity that they could in themselves justify a new copyright.

He added that the BBC should recognise the devotion of fans.

"Copyright owners should be careful not to antagonise their fans, they are the ones who keep shows running.

"While it was in the wilderness no-one cared about Dr Who but the fans, people who did things like making knitting patterns."

Last night the BBC said it had not threatened legal action, but simply sent an e-mail telling Mazz she did not have permission to post the patterns online and asking her to remove them.

A spokesman said the site had been discovered after the BBC realised toys and patterns had been listed for sale on eBay.

He said: "When it comes to fans like Mazzmatazz creating their own products it's fine if they sharing them family and friends, but it's different if it turns into a profit making enterprise."

He said Mazz had been told her designs would forwarded to the BBC's licensing team to see if they could find a way to work with her.

"They are looking into it and will contact her," he said.

It is not the first time Dr Who has sparked a knitting frenzy.

A whole generation of fans reached for their needles to stitch scarfs after Tom Baker, the fourth doctor, sported a long stripy creation in his time travels.

Patterns entitled extermiknit also exist - to help fans knit their own Dalek.

http://www.entropyhouse.com

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