BBC and FACT Shut Down Doctor Who Fansite

An anonymous reader writes with this report from Torrentfreak, excerpting: In just a few hours time the brand new season of Doctor Who will premiere, kicking off with the first episode 'Deep Breath'. There's been a huge build up in the media, but for fans who prefer to socialize and obtain news via a dedicated community, today brings bad news. Doctor Who Media (DWM) was a site created in 2010 and during the ensuing four and a half years it amassed around 25,000 dedicated members. A source close to the site told TF that since nothing like it existed officially, DWM's core focus was to provide a central location and community for everything in the 'Whoniverse,' from reconstructions of missing episodes to the latest episodes, and whatever lay between. But yesterday, following a visit by representatives from the BBC and Federation Against Copyright Theft, the site's operator took the decision to shut down the site for good.

Comments

Don't worry

[Chelloveck]

Don't worry, I'm sure it will regenerate soon enough.

Daleks did it?

[slickepott]

Hmm.. Sounded something like this?

EX-TER-MI-NATE!

Anyone know what, exactly, was the issue?

[Zocalo]

FACT was involved, so my first guess was that they were hosting full episodes, or perhaps links to torrents, but according to TFA DWM had refused to carry any of the leaked episodes from the new series which seems unlikely for a site turning a blind eye to copyright, yet further up is the following quote: "Often times, having watched stuff there led to me purchasing the exact same content on iTunes as well as all the various other content available for Doctor Who", which implies they were hosting episodes, or at least extensive clips.

So, is this a case of major fansite being shutdown for using a more copyrighted material than the BBC was prepared to stomach (in which case where was the friendly letter asking them to "tone it down a bit, please"), a copyright infringement portal being shuttered for hosting/linking to aired episodes and other content, some kind of trademark issue, or just a domain grab by the BBC ("doctorwhomedia.co.uk" is a fairly nice domain name, afterall)?

Re:Anyone know what, exactly, was the issue?

[Frosty Piss]

They were hosting full episodes. If the guy had taken them down, the forum could have gone on, but people mostly went there for the episodes, so that would have killed the site.

Also, 25000 users is "huge"?

Re:Anyone know what, exactly, was the issue?

[91degrees]

No. It doesn't work like that.

The BBC itself is publicly owned, so in that sense, it is public property, but we don't have the right to individual assets any more than a shareholder in Sony can start making copies of Spiderman DVDs.

Also it's paid for by a licence fee rather than taxes. You can call them taxes if you like, but it doesn't go into or come out of central taxation.

Re:Anyone know what, exactly, was the issue?

[Teun]

Often, that's why comparable countries have done away with the licensing scheme and pay public broadcasters from general taxation.

But for their own reasons the UK parliament has resisted such moves as they see the overriding importance of keeping the BBC free from political influence.

Yet, as a Brit you can't avoid being a taxpayer but you can most certainly avoid being a licence payer.

Re:So much for fair use

[91degrees]

Yes it does. It's called fair dealing. But it doesn't allow you to offer complete episodes of a TV show.

Something's not right here...

[malacandrian]

The fact that he yielded on this suggests to me that he was aware that a search warrant would find something on his computer(s) that shouldn't have been there in the first place. It's unfortunate the site is gone, but we're not actually seeing the whole story here. Sadly, because of how things have already went, we probably never will.

We are seeing the whole story here, /. is just choosing not to cover it adequately. The site was hosting full episodes, which was the main reason anyone visited it. This isn't the BBC using overreaching copyright laws to leverage control over its brand, it's the BBC using the reasonable end of copyright law to protect its right to control the distribution of content.

Re:Not sure about an older Doctor Who

[MightyMartian]

Not to mention the fantastic Dune/Star Trek crossover. The best scenes are where Nurse Chapel seduces Baron Harkonnen (and much hilarity ensues) and Paul Atreided and Captain Kirk compare whether the Weirding way or the monkey kick are more effective. Best catchphrase "dammit Jim, I'm a doctor, not a Bene Tleilax facedancer."

Re:Your Official guide to the Jigaboo presidency!

[MightyMartian]

Reading at -1 is like having your soul sucked out and replaced by liquid nitrogen.