Roxanne Sorooshian on trademark tussles

Exterminate. Exterminate. Beware, Dr Who fans. Auntie Beeb can get heavy if you mess with The Brand. So discovered a 26-year-old, known only by her online moniker Mazzmatazz, who became embroiled in a row with the corporation last week over knitting patterns.

The BBC got the needle when Mazz published patterns for the programme's monsters on the internet. The patterns for Ood and Adipose had to be removed from her website after the BBC's commercial arm complained that they breached its trademark.

BBC Worldwide said it acted because finished puppets were being sold by others on auction website eBay.

Mazzmatazz said: "I'm just an ordinary fan who happens to like knitting and sci-fi, and everything has just gone a bit crazy,"

Her case was publicised by the Open Rights Group, a lobbying organisation specialising in digital rights issues.

Executive director Becky Hogge said: "In the offline world, what she's doing would be fine. But because she's doing it online, which is a public space, it causes a problem." Best hide behind the sofa.

You've got to be very careful with knitting patterns. When you think copyright issues, music downloads or pirate movies spring to mind - not the humble knitting pattern. But knitting has been a proud forerunner in the world of internet trademark rammies.

All this rumpus over purl and plain now has me worried that I'll be stripped of my Brownie knitting badge, earned by the painful creation of a Dr Who Scarf, as proudly sported by the then Doctor. Sadly, it was much wider at one end than it was at the other. Little did I realise as an eight-year-old that I was dicing with copyright law. Sadly, I don't think it would fetch much on eBay.

You will be relieved to learn that Mazzmatazz and the Beeb have made up. The corporation denied threatening legal action and, not wanting to miss out on a nice wee earner, offered to consider marketing the designs itself.

Wayne Garvie, director of content for BBC Worldwide, said it was Dr Who fans who had first raised concerns over the puppets being flogged on eBay, saying they were not of the standard expected of a knitted Dr Who alien. He pointed out that the BBC licence fee payers had funded the Dr Who brand and that this had to be protected. I look forward to a slice of the profits when Wooly Ood becomes the must-buy Christmas toy.

Meanwhile, spare a thought for the children, for surely no adult Dr Who fans would covet a knitted Ood.

I recall the sad story of a young girl who eagerly awaited the completion of a Clanger being knitted by her gran. For younger readers, The Clangers was a children's TV programme featuring pink knitted aliens who lived in outer space and communicated through whistling. It was very high budget and the dialogue was scintillating.

At last the day came when the hand-knitted Clanger was finished. The child beamed as she unwrapped the gift from her grandmother. Alas, granny's telly was black and white and the Clanger had been lovingly crafted in grey wool. The child was scarred for life.

So let this be a warning if you feel the urge to dabble in the black arts of craftwork. It doesn't take much to get your knitters in a twist.