A few days ago, there was a news story that blew up my Facebook wall. It basically had to do with the fact the Fox TV Network are going after the makers of the Cunningly Knit Cap that was featured in the show "Firefly" that has become a cult following the science-fiction community.
Now, as someone who recently started to make them for fun and a "flan" myself, I am pretty upset about this. I understand the wanting to make some money off something that you have some sort of ownership, but isn't this taking it a little bit too far? One of the little ladies in my community who sells the hats a cons wonders if she will be arrested and shut down if she sets up her booth this year. She creates some of the most amazing creations that are inspired by the TV shows we love, but she worries that this one little thing will jeopardize her career. Her Cease and Desist letter has not made an appearance in her mail box yet, but she, like many of the others who make such items, have edited her Etsy shop and even taken down some of her items.
I am actually more pissed off at the fact that FOX did not care about the TV show when they cancelled it. The hat was featured in an episode that did not even air on the network. They canceled the show and wrote it off. Now that items from the show are making money, they are basically just trying to squeeze people out. I mean, seriously do they not think about the fact people took the time to write the pattern, find the yarn, and spent the energy in doing these things? What is next, making it so you cannot sell handmade items because the companies who make the yarn own the rights to the yarn you bought to make the blanket/hat/pillow and they have the right to the profits from the sale of the item? Is it a copyright infringement if they use a different pattern and yarn from the one that you see on the TV? Who knows?
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