Fan knits tribute to 'Dr. Who,' BBC irked

LONDON, May 14 (UPI) -- A British fan of the long-running BBC show "Doctor Who" was threatened with legal action for creating knitted versions of the show's monsters.

The 26-year-old woman -- who wants to be known only by her work name, "Mazzmatazz" -- told The Times of London she is "just an ordinary person who likes knitting." She created knitting patterns for Ood, a squid-faced creature, and Adipose, a monster made out of human fat, and posted them on her Web site.

She took the knitting patterns off-line when the BBC notified her that she was infringing on its copyright.

Becky Hogge, executive director of the Open Rights Group -- a British organization that advocates on digital rights and civil liberties issues -- suggested copyright law needs to be changed to protect fan tributes to popular movies, TV shows and books.

"We need to recognize that there is a difference between selling knock-off hand-bags in the market, and fans who are making tributes and contributing to creativity in the future," said Hogge.

A BBC spokesman said the broadcaster does not like going after fans but had to protect Adipose and Ood because knitted versions were showing up for sale on eBay.