Interesting Stuff 14.05.08
Post categories: iPlayer
| 11:15 UK time, Wednesday, 14 May 2008
There's been a flurry of blog posts, (including the Open Rights Group) and some press stories about Doctor Who knitting patterns.
BBC Worldwide (the commercial arm of the BBC) is quoted in this BBC news story. There's also a comment from BBC Worldwide on the Open Rights Group blog today.
The BBC iPlayer was mentioned in yesterday's Home of Commons Public Accounts Committee report. (From Media Guardian)
And while we're on the subject:
"The BBC, for its part, will insist that the kind of obsessive geekery that leads to iPlayer cracking is very much at the margins of iPlayer use and they are right" says Jemima Kiss in the Guardian.
The BBC's Olinda project is mentioned in this thoughful blog post from Tim Zen's Blog Of Sparseness.
"The killer argument for Freesat, and the one that makes it intellectually respectable, is the high definition (HD) offering" claims Raymond Snoddy in The Independent.
Nick Reynolds is editor, BBC Internet Blog.
Comment number 1.
At 02:24 15th May 2008, Orville Eastland wrote:A few ideas:
1. Allow for small-scale fan production of items based on BBC shows, with a small fee per item paid to the BBC. (The BBC would have to approve of the item's design, of course. Also, if the rights are shared between the BBC and others, like, say, the Terry Nation estate sharing the Dalek rights, the other rights holders would get a share of the fee.)
2. The BBC should partner with companies like Zazzle or Cafe Press to allow for on-demand production of t-shirts based on BBC properties.
3. The BBC should publish (or more likely license to other publishers) a pattern book for certain properties, containing both patterns (clothing (knitted/sewn), dolls (ditto) crafts, mock props, etc.) designed by staff at the BBC (such as Blue Peter makes), designed by the publisher's staff, or even approved designs submitted by fans. (After all, the old Doctor Who had a Pattern Book for sale, even if Michael Grade used it as a reason why he hated the show...)
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Comment number 2.
At 08:51 15th May 2008, miraculousginger wrote:i was looking forward to my pair of donna mittens for xmas as well
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Comment number 3.
At 09:41 15th May 2008, hainba wrote:Does this mean that the BBC will be sued retrospectively by the owners of the intellectual property rights to Thunderbirds / Tracey Island model on Blue Peter?
Is Blue Peter now band from model making?
Where does this control freekery end?
Shame on you BBC
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Comment number 4.
At 11:12 15th May 2008, SteveFarr wrote:The BBC(TM) should approach Mazz ASAP and offer to licence the patterns for free. The best way stop other people from making money out of it is then to get Blue Peter(TM) to encourage millions of kids to take up knitting and make tens-of-millions of Dr Who(TM) dolls whereby the commercial value per-unit would be diminished down to so-much-wool. Would that keep the lawyers happy? I fear not - i'd get The Doctor(TM) to zap them all with his Sonic Screwdriver(TM).
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Comment number 5.
At 17:58 15th May 2008, SBReboot wrote:And, of course, the thought occurs that the people making money will already have the patterns anyway...
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Comment number 6.
At 10:15 16th May 2008, Chris wrote:Hmmmm. A monolithic organisation bent on the suppression of creativity and freedom of expression, ruthlessly putting down ordinary people with outrageous displays of corporate bullying and terrifying the Doctor's friends into submission.
Is BBC Worldwide auditioning for a part in this year's Christmas Special?
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