Harry Deansway Loses Copyright Battle In UK High Court Against Baby Cow Productions’ LAMTC Series

Harry Deansway Loses Copyright Battle In UK High Court Against Baby Cow Productions’ LAMTC Series

A two-day civil trial was held in November

Comedian and writer Harry Deansway has lost a copyright battle in the UK High Court with a production company Baby Cow Productions, founded by British celebrity Steve Coogan.

Deansway, who brought the claim under his legal name Joshua Rinkoff, had accused the production company’s Live at the Moth Club (LATMC) series of infringing the copyright held by his own YouTube production Shambles.

However, in a recent ruling, Judge Amanda Michaels stated that the comedian’s series was “not protected as a copyright work. And even if it was, she “would in any event have found that it was not infringed by the defendant.”

Shambles was filmed in a documentary format, combining scenes of live comedy with behind-the-scenes narrative of a sitcom. The first series of the YouTube comedy was streamed in 2013 and the second was launched in 2015.

On the other hand, LATMC was broadcast on the TV channel Dave (owned by UKTV) from December 2022 to January 2023. Later, it streamed on UKTV Play.

The driving force behind LATMC was Rupert Majendie, head of development at Baby Cow.

Judge Michaels pointed out that in his witness statement, Majendie accepted that “he vaguely recalled being aware of Shambles but had forgotten about it when he came up with LATMC.”

However, when Rinkoff complained about it, he had a quick look at Shambles online and it did not ignite his memory of seeing it.

The judge added, “I take this to mean that he accepted that he had watched some of Shambles some years before making LATMC. On the other hand, I accept his evidence that he did not have Shambles in mind when he conceived the idea of LATMC.”

The counsel for Deansway contended that the similarities between the shows were too numerous to be explained by coincidence and must have flowed from unconscious copying.

He suggested that Majendie influenced the writers of LATMC, who were witnesses at the trial, and it unconsciously led to the copying of characters, plotlines and other aspects of Shambles.

However, the judge stated the similarities between the shows identified by the claimants “do not seem to me to raise an inference of copying.”

She continued that the main complaint was that LATMC was “set in an almost identical setting (a run-down comedy venue) and combines scenes of real comedians performing on stage with backstage scenes featuring a range of fictional characters.”

“In my judgment, LATMC may have the same central underlying idea as Shambles, but that does not infer the format has been copied as a whole or in substantial parts,” she added.

Following the ruling, Deansway mentioned on his website that while he was proud of the stand he took “it has come at great personal and financial cost.”

He added, “Copyright law is notoriously difficult, as it is viewed through the antiquated lens of the British justice system. My legal team wanted to set a new precedent that would not only have helped me but others who wish to have their ideas protected. It was always going to be a difficult ask.”

Deansway thanked the “tireless work” of his legal team, led by Keystone Law partner Lawrence Abramson and Tim Sampson of Lamb Chambers.

Baby Cow Productions was represented by Jonathan Hill of 8 New Square and instructed by Wiggin LLP.