The BBC has forced the withdrawal of a number of knitting patterns based on Doctor Who characters.
A CRAFT enthusiast who posted knitting patterns inspired by Doctor Who characters on the internet has been forced to take them down after a copyright infringement notice from the BBC.
In a statement posted on their website, science fiction and knitting fan Mazzmatazz said they were forced to remove five designs after a notice from the BBC.
“Thanks to the BBC, I am no longer allowed to distribute any Doctor Who patterns, even for free (not that I was charging anyway). I apologise to any fans who are disappointed by this,“ they said.
“If you want to see the patterns back up, I suggest you petition the BBC to relent.“
The offending knitting patterns showed how to create small toys resembling Doctor Who monsters such as the Ood and Adipose.
“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,“ Mazzmatazz said.
The infringement notice has angered bloggers who claim the BBC is overreacting to fan art, and that the patterns are not a direct representation of their characters.
“They are misplacing their energies pursuing a fan who has done nothing more than to display their love to the show by making a highly original design,“ said technology law blogger Andres Guadamuz.
Mazmatazz’s case has also been picked up by the Open Rights Group, an online civil liberties organisation.
A statement on the ORG website said the BBC should play a role in “stimulating the creative economy” by allowing fans to alter its content in a non-commercial context.
“The approach the BBC have taken with Mazz’s knitting patterns demonstrate a distinct lack of flexibility,“ the organisation said.
“It is quite possible that through transforming the characters in Doctor Who into knitting patterns, Mazz may have infringed upon the BBC’s copyright. But it’s hard to see how Mazz’s non-commercial knitting patterns actually damage the commercial interests of the BBC.“
Last week the BBC launched an online feature allowing Doctor Who fans to create their own video clip using footage, images, music and sound effects from the show on the program’s official website.
The “Trailer Maker” feature follows a similar initiative that allowed fans to create their own Doctor Who story in an online comic book format that was used to make almost 40,000 comics.
“Users of the site have always been incredibly imaginative and we’re extremely keen to encourage more of that creativity,“ said the website’s producer Rob Francis when the feature was launched.
A request for comment on Mazzmatazz’s knitting patterns has been sent to the BBC.
Instructions for building a robotic pumpkin Dalek remain online.
