Shayne-Michael.COMedy

Defending Against Stolen Material - by Shayne Michael

In 1998, I opened at Laffs in Colorado Springs. It was the first time I played a real comedy club as a "Paid Regular." The feature told me one of my jokes, "Three out of four doctors stranded on a desert island say they'd want Bayer aspirin. I'd want a boat," was hack. This was the first great joke I'd ever written. So I felt hurt when a working comic told me don't do it again. So I dug up the high school newspapers the joke evolved from and proved it was my joke. And, for the first time, I also seriously considered registering a bit with the US Copyright Office.

In the end, Eugene conceded that he believed I was the author. But he also said never do that joke if when I showcased for Mitzi Shore, because she wouldn't believe I wrote it.

As a comic the first step to protecting your act is understanding the copyright law. But I have to be honest with you, filing a lawsuit against the hack who stole my "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Spray" joke was not an option. So where does that leave me? I have two broad suggestions when it comes to protecting your original work. First, write material that people don't steal. Second, if somebody does steal a joke, be strong enough to let it go.

Writing Material People Don't Steal

As a one-liner comic I'm a great target for hacks. Most of my jokes work independent of my personalty. Many of my jokes will still get a laugh, even if the person telling them is nothing like me. Then there are some jokes that only I seem able to deliver. These are the those jokes people don't steal because they're tied to my personality and point of view {POV}. POV is probably the most poorly defined words in comedy.

Defining POV is like defining love. You know when it's there, but you can't describe what it is while you're seeing it. So here's my definition: A POV is simply what makes you as a comedian unique. And I truly believe comics who are not unique are doomed to failure. I have a clean but dark sense of humor. When other people get nervous about my monotone psychopathic delivery, I think it's hysterical.

Jokes like, "I remember when I broke my arm and my dad signed my cast don't misbehave again or I'll break the other one," are less likely to be stolen because they're tied to my personality, family and upbringing. Unless you share those elements with me you will get a groan when you deliver the line. The audience will think, "Oh what a poor abused kid...." instead of thinking, "Well that's tragic but he scares me so maybe he deserved it..." People tend not to steal jokes that are clearly about someone else. The "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Spray" joke was about the world at large. It's fair game for anyone to comment on the world we share. And it's impossible for me to prove someone else couldn't come up with the same joke independent of seeing me perform it.

Being Strong Enough To Let It Go

So what did I do with that joke? I still perform it when there's no audition or industry around. If I were showcasing at the Comedy Store I would dump that joke and the Bayer Aspirin joke. I know I wrote them. But because of the hacks who have come before me, I can't only use them to win over any booker.

Instead of being upset, I take hacking it as the strongest vote of confidence that I write better jokes than the hacks who are competing with me.

The difference between, "Hey you stole my joke and you're an asshole." And, "Oh, well. I lost a good joke. But, I'll be okay because I can come up with something better" is the difference of fear and faith. If I let myself freak out because someone stole my best joke, it's like saying "That joke was my crutch. Now that my crutch is gone I'm not sure I can make it in comedy."

If I say, "I'll be alright. I can always write something better anyway," I'm saying two things.

1. My best joke is still inside me.
2. It is my writing skill that makes me valuable not any one joke.

Which is the more powerful attitude? Which writer would you rather hire to write your sitcom. The one whose attitude is based on fear that he'll never replace that joke that was stolen or the one who has so much faith he can't wait to try? Who do you think NBC would hire?

Understanding the copyright law is important. Knowing that law will save you a lot of time, expense and heartache if you ever have to use it. But there are other tactics you can use to protect your work. In the world of stand-up routines I don't recommend you spend the time or energy it takes to sue anyone that steals a single lines here or there. Instead, never loose faith that you can replace the material you lost with something better, keep doing your stolen material {in settings where you won't get labeled a hack}, and come up with an act so compelling and personal that any thief would be a fool to steal it in the first place.