Stealing material

Mr.Nice Guy

I did a search on this and didn't see a question on it so I figured I'd ask as I believe there's a few stand-ups on the forum. Basically, what would you do if you found out some other performer was using your material?

I read an article where a comedian said if such a thing happens you should just ignore it and invent new material, but to me that's essentially letting the thieving so-and-so off the hook.

Just wondering if anyone has any experience of people nicking their material and if not, what would you do if such a thing were to happen? (Besides weep uncontrollably of course)

orestes

It happens, unfortunately, and I think anyone who does it should not be allowed to perform comedy again, ever. It's plagiarism, intellectual theft, end of story.

I wouldn't initially say it to them myself if someone stole a piece I do. As far as I know, if someone starts doing a bit that someone else already does without realising it another comedian (not the one who first did the piece, a third party) will point it out to them politely and they will stop. Material is kinda first come first serve, whoever wrote it first owns it.

But if it was pointed out to someone they were doing a bit that I already do, and they carried on doing it, I'd definitely say something to them since they would then be doing it intentionally, and therefore theft instead of just a misunderstanding.

If you steal material and try to pass it off as your own, you're scum, end of story. Most comedians will just shun someone who is known to steal a lot of material.

RobbieBonham

I'd remove their fingernails.

I'm joking , of course.


I'd have my brother remove their fingernails

*******************


Yeah, the bottom line is, comedy is not for 'cover bands' so lads... write yer own or go back to packing shelves.

Although occasionally comedians DO have similar bits to others . I've had bits I've written and someone says "Such n' such has a joke VERY like that", I tend to just drop it. I've also witnessed flagrant thievery of my stuff (including one of my own cartoons!) though usually you can rely on another comedian to 'quietly have a word with em' .

Usually.

grames_bond

also most of the time the people running the club may know that the material has been stolen, if they catch that then good luck getting a gig there again! but as the lads above have said more often than not someone will have a quiet word and if they presist......we send in robbies brother!

Mr.Nice Guy

Cheers for the insight guys. It's good to know comedians look out for another. I'd imagine seeing someone else using your own material would be really infuriating.

Gross Halfwit

If someone stole a joke on me & used it practically verbatim then I'd have to bate 'im ... see what I did there!? I've seen "comedians" whose entire set was stolen! It's just sad.

Now, funny you should ask this because recently I basically got accused of stealing someone's joke. I didn't! I never heard the bloke do the joke before. Never spoke to him. Never seen him live or recorded in any capacity. His joke is an unfunny one liner that doesn't really make sense whereas mine is an elongated, frankly hilarious 'bit'! Anyone could see the difference between the two jokes ... he was being a pretentious penis.

I was ready to schnickity schnick!

ilovemybrick

With the rise in popularity of stand up obviously people trying to copy material. As well as that though the internet and the fact that more sets are recorded the theft of material amongst the top comedians is more difficult and often leads to embarrassment.

Galvasean

orestes wrote: »

I wouldn't initially say it to them myself if someone stole a piece I do. As far as I know, if someone starts doing a bit that someone else already does without realising it another comedian (not the one who first did the piece, a third party) will point it out to them politely and they will stop.

Indeed a third part comedian pointyed out to me last week that one of my jokes was very similar to someone elses. Pity since I've had that joke about a year. I just hope people havent been going around all this time thinking I'm a big ol' joke stealer.

SlimJ

RobbieBonham wrote: »

I'd remove their fingernails.

I'm joking , of course.

I'm totally ****ing stealing this.

JIZZLORD

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YE9Kthyaco

Hagar

Trouble is, there are only a finite number of topics and variations on them. The skill is in weaving these few possibilities into something original without being too like what someone else has done.

JIZZLORD

similar stuff is to be expected but copy and pasting is bad. mmmmkay.
i seen a comedian in galway once who ripped off tommy cooper blatantly and he also threw in a joke i heard brendan grace use years ago.

Hagar

I totally agree.

Have a quick look at this link re Bob Hope arguably the most successful comedian of all time. Not everyone can write like him or afford a team of writers that size.

RobbieBonham

JIZZLORD wrote: »

similar stuff is to be expected but copy and pasting is bad. mmmmkay.
i seen a comedian in galway once who ripped off tommy cooper blatantly and he also threw in a joke i heard brendan grace use years ago.

A thief AND a clueless fecker...lol

Yeh, I remember being in a competition in Derry once. There were guys using Bill Hicks stuff etc, one guy even did Billy Connolly stuff (even doing an impression of him for the whole joke) and then followed up with the classic "3 men in an army hospital with only one wirebrush to use on their variously dieased orifices. Third fella: I want it before those two **ck**s - ho ho - what a corker" fare that we all love in Comedy-land so much. He even scraped third or second place, I recall. I didnt, but then, I'd also never heard of the judges.


On saying all that, I do occasionally use a Morceambe and Wise joke when an ambulance passes by the Hapenny very audibly. I prised it from Moreceambe's cold dead hands.

Gross Halfwit

At the So You Think You're Funny heats a guy got up & told some of the oldest jokes in the world! His whole set was stolen! I had to restrain myself from bursting into flames!

And the other night in BOTA some lad ripped off Jimmy Carr & I think Tommy Tiernan! WTF?

Galvasean

Its very rare to go to BotA ona Tuesday without someone using a few Jimmy Carr jokes. I'd like to think that its innocence on their part and that great minds think alike but I'm not so sure. These are generally the guys who bring a small army of fanatics who go wild for them at the end (clapping for no one else) in an attempt to nab the duckie. With that in mind I doubt its innocence.

grames_bond

there are some areas of stand up however that are slightly public domain, if the opportunity pops into your lap, like robbie with the ambulance, or a decent heckler put down, if it fits alot of comedians wouldnt mind! (if it can be used, usin a jimmy carr heckler putdown doesnt work ever)

Gross Halfwit

Using someone else's heckler put down is fine I reckon. If someone is being a dick then I don't see any problem in dipping into a ready-to-roll arsenal of insults & stuff! Because no one really plans on hecklers being there you know so it's not exactly pre-meditated theft!

I once used a Dane Cook line to recover from a feck up ... I'm not proud I did it but i didn't plan on it.

Nicking other people's stuff & working it into your set is bolloxy!

LadyJ

I'm a singer and if someone stole a song I'd written and tried to pass it off as their own I'd probably sue them. However, I guess maybe it's harder to copyright jokes.

Jesus Wept

JIZZLORD wrote: »

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YE9Kthyaco

I was about to post that. :pac:

bret69

grames_bond wrote: »

(if it can be used, usin a jimmy carr heckler putdown doesnt work ever)

Just curious, what do you mean by that? Why doesn't it work ever?

grames_bond

bret69 wrote: »

Just curious, what do you mean by that? Why doesn't it work ever?

because jimmy carr has his own style, heckler put downs like "save your breath, you're gonna need it to blow up your girlfriend later" are public domain anyone could say it, however to use a jimmy carr line like:
"i got into comedy because i thaught it would make me a bit of a fanny magnet....i never expected to attract a cnut like that" need to be delivered in his style first of all to work, and secondly if you do it in his style the rest of the set has to be the same and then were back into what galvasean was talkin about re: BotA!

dont think i explained that properly...but i did the best i could!

Quint

I can't view the video clips posted, but american comedian Carlos Mencia is notorous for it. Do a you tube search on him (not sure if it was done already) and there's videos of comedians approaching him and asking him about it, great watching him squirm!

dr.bollocko

Sher Dennis leary was lambasted back in the day for stealing material from the late great Bill Hicks. Even from inventing a persona based on Bill Hicks. If you look at the internet credits for young Leary's first album, they have Hicks in as an uncreditted writer. I even think Hicks mentioned it a few times and all.

squidgey

Gross Halfwit wrote: »

At the So You Think You're Funny heats a guy got up & told some of the oldest jokes in the world! His whole set was stolen! I had to restrain myself from bursting into flames!

And the other night in BOTA some lad ripped off Jimmy Carr & I think Tommy Tiernan! WTF?

Can these people be named and/or shamed!! And also the material posted here, so that people shall forever know of their thievery.

Oh and look up joe rogan - carlos mencia on youtube for some brilliant videos.

Mikel

JIZZLORD wrote: »

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YE9Kthyaco

LOL, saw that on paramount one night, Stewart Lee is class..
"football fans......all football fans....are filthy reactionary scum"
I think the Irish comedian he mentions is Fr Stone from father Ted

Gross Halfwit

squidgey wrote: »

Can these people be named and/or shamed!! And also the material posted here, so that people shall forever know of their thievery.

Oh and look up joe rogan - carlos mencia on youtube for some brilliant videos.

To be honest I can't remember, their names or acts didn't stand out above the thievery & I doubt they'd be back on the scene. If they can't scrape together 7 mins of their own material then they have no business being on the stage.

And i hada goosey at the Rogan/Carlos debacle. Go Joe I say! He had him dead to rights.

Jay D

Mr.Nice Guy wrote: »

I did a search on this and didn't see a question on it so I figured I'd ask as I believe there's a few stand-ups on the forum. Basically, what would you do if you found out some other performer was using your material?

I read an article where a comedian said if such a thing happens you should just ignore it and invent new material, but to me that's essentially letting the thieving so-and-so off the hook.

Just wondering if anyone has any experience of people nicking their material and if not, what would you do if such a thing were to happen? (Besides weep uncontrollably of course)

I do have a friend who does a bit of stand-up and has experienced this. He has had stuff stole on him on more than one occasion but says that he just has to have something else ready too.

Not as if the jokes are copyrighted so not a lot can be done.

squidgey

Jay D wrote: »

He has had stuff stole on him on more than one occasion but says that he just has to have something else ready too.

Em... Like a baseball bat maybe. There's no way you would just "give up" your material to anybody that wants it. Are you sure he's not referencing the fact that a comedian on before you at a show might do material on a similar topic to something you were going to do, so then you need some backup material ready just in case.

Like if somebody on before you was doing a piece on Mc Donalds, and you also planned on doing something on Mc Donalds you'd probably cut that for that night, and if both of your material was relatively similar you might have a word with that comedian to see who will continue to use that material going forward.

Jay D

squidgey wrote: »

Em... Like a baseball bat maybe. There's no way you would just "give up" your material to anybody that wants it. Are you sure he's not referencing the fact that a comedian on before you at a show might do material on a similar topic to something you were going to do, so then you need some backup material ready just in case.

Like if somebody on before you was doing a piece on Mc Donalds, and you also planned on doing something on Mc Donalds you'd probably cut that for that night, and if both of your material was relatively similar you might have a word with that comedian to see who will continue to use that material going forward.

Maybe he should have a baseball bat on hand, I would certainly feel like one but the thing about it is, he's been on some weeks and done a little speel and has gone for competitions etc and other dickheads, let's face it that's all they are, have beenn using the jokes.

I'm not talking about a common topic that another comedian might use, I'm talking of blatant thieving of someone else's work unaware that the person they were watching saying them initially are coming on afterwards.

squidgey

Jay D wrote: »

Maybe he should have a baseball bat on hand, I would certainly feel like one but the thing about it is, he's been on some weeks and done a little speel and has gone for competitions etc and other dickheads, let's face it that's all they are, have beenn using the jokes.

I'm not talking about a common topic that another comedian might use, I'm talking of blatant thieving of someone else's work unaware that the person they were watching saying them initially are coming on afterwards.

What material are we talking about, give us the topic and one or 2 of the punches. This sounds very odd.

evil_seed

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qoQjzJWUvgk

tossy

It happens in all art forms its a fact of life,one of billy connollys best gags is a richard pryor original