Comics given free legal advice

Comedians at the Edinburgh Fringe are to be offered free legal advice on how to stop their material being stolen.

Leading law firm Hill Dickinson will also be helping comics with contracts with agents, broadcasters and venues as part of their sponsorship of the Edinburgh Fringe.

Barrister Charlotte Harris, who is hosting the ‘surgeries’ said that not enough comics take steps to protect their gags and scripts.

Any material is automatically the intellectual property of whoever wrote it, but she recommends comedians put a  © symbol and a date on a written copy of anything they create in case they need to prove it later.

She concedes there is very little that can be done about protecting individual gags or general ideas, but comedians should be more careful about specific scripts and routines, especially when it comes to submitting them to a broadcaster.

‘If someone like the BBC says they like your script and send it to them, you should always put the copyright sign on it,’ she said. ‘Especially if you go into a workshop with other writers and comedians, you need to be clear about what’s yours and what intellectual property rights you’re prepared to give up.

‘Comedians are often so grateful if they get a big break they forget that they’re talented and about the fortunes they’ve spent coming to the Fringe.

‘People also get embarrassed, and think they shouldn’t have the audacity to challenge the situation. But it actually makes them seem more professional.

‘But we know comics don’t have the money to get legal advice until they’re very big, which is why we’re offering these free surgeries.’

Harris says other common causes for concern among comedians are problems with their Edinburgh venues and contracts with agents.

She said: ‘Often they don’t have opt-out clauses, or outlines of what the agent should do for the act, so it’s hard for a comedian to get out of the deal, but easy for the agent.

‘But comedians shouldn’t be intimidated. Even very big agencies, who say it’s a standard contact all their acts have to sign, will change them if challenged. It’s just easier and lazier not to.’

‘I’ve never known a deal be lost because a comic has asked for clarification of a contract, or clauses to be added,’ she said.

Published: 4 Aug 2006