Knitter needles the BBC

A Doctor Who fan has been told by the BBC to stop producing knitting patterns from the sci-fi TV series.

BBC Worldwide contacted "Mazzmatazz", after she began creating patterns of creatures like the Ood and the Adipose for her online knitting circle.

The fan, who does not want to be named, never sold her patterns. They were sold on eBay by other people.

A spokesman denied that the BBC had threatened legal action, saying: "We sent an email from our brand protection team asking her to remove the patterns from websites because she didn't have permission to use them.

"If it's on a small scale, for the fans and not for profit then we let the matter rest. But this had crossed the line into a profit-making exercise by third parties that wasn't going back to the licence fee payer."

The Open Rights Group, an advocacy organisation for civil and consumer rights, is helping to publicise the case.

Becky Hogge, the group's executive director, said: "We need to recognise that there is a difference between selling knock-off handbags in the market, and fans who are making tributes and contributing to creativity in the future."

Andres Gudamuz, a law lecturer at the University of Edinburgh, said creating a knitting pattern could be enough to give Mazzmatazz a copyright, which could be a defence if she did not use the Doctor Who name.

© Independent Television News Limited 2008. All rights reserved.