Well, it must be catching attention if Neil Gaiman would blog about the foolishness that the BBC is up to now. They are going after a knitter who created some Dr. Who patterns and was not selling them. Some fool put them up on Ebay as sales and now the Beeb has gone after the pattern maker. Thanks to whatever dickwad reported the patterns on Ebay, Mazzmatazz has had to remove their works from their site.

Mazz does have a note up on their homepage about this whole thing. Thanks to LJ’er RoblingT I know know about the Who_Knits and Crafty_Tardis LJ communities. At Who_Knits the following bit was posted:

The recent copyright issues
As the maintainer of [info]who_knits, I probably should have spoken up about the Doctor Who/ BBC/ mazzmatazz/ eBay/ knitting pattern fiasco much earlier.

I thought the whole situation was unfortunate and unfair but also a bit silly and assumed it would blow over and we’d have our patterns back up before the kerfuffle got to the point where Neil Gaiman might blog about it.

I don’t think [info]who_knits should have an official policy about the privacy level of pattern posts (but if you are nervous, feel free to friends lock your entries), but I will be adding something to the userinfo/ F.A.Q. regarding profiting from patterns or knit items based on Doctor Who characters or props. That stance being: no profiting allowed.

The reason the BBC’s reaction to the patterns is strange and unfair is that the person punished was not the person asking for money. To maintain our righteous indignation, it’s important that there not be another example of an individual profiting from the sale of a Doctor Who pattern or finished item. I know no one reading this would think of doing such a thing, particularly at this time, but I thought the community’s stance should be stated nonetheless.

I realize this is a confusing issue. People sell Tom Baker scarves on eBay constantly, and I’ve never heard of the maintainer of the (disappeared) doctorwhoscarf.com dealing with issues of copyright. I’m not certain where the BBC draws the line. Is new-Who is off-limits but classic-Who free game?

My bottom line is this: be careful, use your own judgment, if you’re going to try to profit from a Who related knit item, don’t do it in [info]who_knits.

Furthermore, although the BBC is within their rights to complain or request removal of patterns, doing so is not a smart way to encourage their fandom. I think they may need to be reminded of this in a playful, friendly way.

What do you think about [info]who_knits holding an emergency knitalong that results in many knit Adipose being mailed to the appropriate BBC office?

As someone who values folks being able to share information freely, and also a big believer in fans being able to express their joy for a particular show, movie etc this seems to be such a boneheaded move on the part of the BBC. They went after the person who created patterns out of love for the show, not to make a profit. Go after the dipshit who was selling the patterns, without the creators consent after all.

Guess I’d better try and find the patterns now and pdf them before the Beeb gets its claws into other folks who enjoy the show enough to want to show their Dr. Who love.

Please send a note of complaint to the BBC!

Published by cypheroftyr

Tanya DePass is the founder and Director of I Need Diverse Games, a not-for-profit organization based in Chicago, which is dedicated to better diversification of all aspects of gaming. I Need Diverse Games serves the community by supporting marginalized developers, attendance at the Game Developer Conference by participating in the GDC Scholarship program, helps assist attendance at other industry events, and is seeking partnership with organizations and initiatives. Tanya is a lifelong Chicagoan who loves everything about gaming, #INeedDiverseGames spawn point, and wants to make the industry better and more inclusive for everyone. She’s part of the Rivals of Waterdeep actual play stream on twitch.tv/rivalsofwaterdeep, a partnered Twitch variety broadcaster; and often speaks on issues of diversity, feminism, race, intersectionality & other topics online, at conventions and as a public speaker.. She’s also contributed to publications at Green Ronin, Paizo and Monte Cook Games and is the co-developer for the Fifth Season RPG based on N.K. Jemisin’s three time Hugo award winning Broken Earth trilogy. She’s the creator and Creative Director of Into the Mother Lands, a Twitch supported RPG and Actual Play stream, airing weekly on her channel, twitch.tv/cypheroftyr. Additionally, she is a Senior Annenberg labs Civic Media Fellow at USC. She’s also the creator and Creative Director of Into the Mother Lands, a new sci fi afro-futurist RPG developed with a team of all POC and Black creators; live streamed on her twitch channel, /cypheroftyr. She’s named as one of The Game Awards Future Class 2020, a diverse group of builders, thinkers and dreamers whose voices elevate and diversify our artform. It recognizes individuals around the world who represent the bright, bold and inclusive future for video games. She was also named as one of Gamers of the Year 2020 by Kotaku along with three of her contemporaries. She was also invited to the Xbox MVP program in February 2021. Her work to make the industry more inclusive has been highlighted in Game Changer, Directed by Tina Charles, WNBA star & olympian as well as filmmaker. The short documentary premiered at Tribeca 2021, as part of the Queen Collective; an initiative started by Queen Latifah, supported by Proctor & Gamble in an effort to get more Black women into film making. Game Changer was also featured as part of BETHer’s 2021 Juneteenth Programming on 19 June 2021. Tanya is the programming & diversity coordinator for OrcaCon and GaymerX. She also serves on the Board of Directors for OrcaCon and was named the Chair for Take This in January 2023. She often speaks on issues of diversity, feminism, race, intersectionality & other topics at conventions. Her writing about games and games critique appears in Uncanny Magazine, Polygon, Wiscon Chronicles, Vice Gaming, Paste Games, Mic, and other publications. She’s the editor of Game Devs and Others: Tales from the Margins (2018, CRC Press) and contributed to The Advanced Game Narrative Toolbox. (2019, CRC Press) Writer Bio for pubs: Tanya is the Founder and Director of I Need Diverse Games, a not-for-profit organization based in Chicago. She’s part of Rivals of Waterdeep, an actual play D&D show on twitch.tv/rivalsofwaterdeep; the programming coordinator for OrcaCon & GaymerX; and often speaks on issues of diversity, feminism, race, intersectionality & other topics at conventions. She’s on the Board of Take This as well as a Stream Ambassador, and was part of the inaugural cohort of The Game Awards Future Class. Her work to make the industry more inclusive has been highlighted in Game Changer, Directed by Tina Charles, WNBA star & olympian as well as filmmaker. The short documentary premiered at Tribeca 2021, as part of the Queen Collective; an initiative started by Queen Latifah, supported by Proctor & Gamble in an effort to get more Black women into film making. Game Changer was also featured as part of BETHer’s 2021 Juneteenth Programming on 19 June 2021.