Robin Williams, the frenetic actor and comedian who died a few years ago, had a habit of stealing jokes. Young comedians would complain that he’d show up at their shows, laugh along with the audience, and then a few days or weeks later would appear on widely-seen television chat shows and effortlessly drop their material into his conversation.
This, they insisted, was worse than theft. It was a case of a powerful and already-famous comedian skimming off the cream from dozens of up-and-coming, usually penniless, performers.
Williams, to his credit, never really denied it. He simply confessed that in the rush of performance, with his brain zooming at some untold speed – and everyone can agree that he was an unstoppable force of nature – he simply no longer remembered that the joke or observation or one-liner that popped into his head had been written and performed by someone else.
And also: he reportedly paid out a lot of money to soothe some of the outrage. If he had truly stolen (or, more nicely put, “inadvertently appropriated”) another comic’s material, he was known to send over a very fat cheque in restitution. Rumour had it that those payments often amounted to US$10,000 each, which for an otherwise destitute comedian must have gone a long way towards making peace. Some comedians, it was said, would show up at a comedy club whenever they heard Robin Williams was in the audience, angling for the chance to have a joke stolen followed by a secret thank-you cheque.
Comedians and writers have very little in the way of what’s called, in legal circles, “defensible intellectual property”. When a writer writes something, it has to be published – or at least searchable on Google – to be truly protected. And even then, the protection isn’t financial or legal, it’s moral. I’ve had whole chunks of my work lifted pretty much wholesale without any attribution at all. A friend of mine once told me that under no circumstances should I see a certain independent film because, as he put it, “a lot of it is from your first book, and it’ll make you furious, but there’s nothing you can do about it, so why put yourself through that?” My friend, I should disclose, is an attorney whose practice centres around intellectual property issues. So when he says, “there’s nothing you can do about it”, I believe him.
Comedians, though, operate under somewhat different circumstances. While it’s true that they, like writers, can’t really do anything when their work is stolen – the most they can hope for is that the thief is a benevolent and apologetic one, and sends them some money - the close-knit and gossipy community of stand-up comics has its own internal system of justice.
Sometimes two smart and funny people can come up with the same basic joke at the same time. Jim Gaffigan– for my money one of the funniest stand-up comics around, and one who has eliminated anything coarse or profane from his act – does a many-minutes-long comic piece about a revolting frozen snack called a Hot Pocket. The Hot Pocket is a microwaveable mini-pastry filled with tasteless who-knows-what and Gaffigan delivers an extended dissertation on the subject. It’s hilarious.
Patton Oswalt, also a funny and sharp comedian, once had his own set of Hot Pocket observations. (Hot Pockets are awful enough, apparently, to inspire multiple stand-up comedians.) Friends told him that he’d have to eliminate that subject from his act. It looked, they said, like he had stolen it from Gaffigan, which wasn’t true. But after Oswalt heard Gaffigan’s longer and more complete Hot Pocket routine, he knew what he had to do: retire his own Hot Pocket material. Gaffigan, he knew, “owned” the subject.
Amy Schumer, who burst into international fame with her comedy hit Trainwreck, has been accused, like Robin Williams before her, of taking other comics' material as her own. Unfortunately for her, in the intervening years between Williams' heyday as a comedian and her own, the internet was invented. Williams merely had to contend with rumours and recollections about picking jokes from this or that comedian's act. Stand-up comedy, back then, was a totally temporary affair – no one recorded a young performer's act on video. There was no YouTube, no Vimeo.
No such luck for Schumer. Google the words “Amy Schumer steals jokes” and the first few responses are pretty devastating side-by-side video comparisons of Amy Schumer’s material – especially from her most recent Netflix comedy special – and another comedian’s, often recorded years before. In one case, a sketch from her hilarious (and, it must be said, mostly dazzlingly original) sketch comedy show on Comedy Central is an almost direct replica of an earlier sketch on another show.
Schumer has responded to the inevitable internet-based sniping and accusations with a defiant and self-pitying tone, which has only made things worse. The smart route to take is the Robin Williams route: a discreet apology followed by a monster-sized cheque. And when you really think about it, that’s a pretty good system for all of us to follow when we’ve done something wrong.
Rob Long is a writer and producer in Los Angeles
On Twitter: @rcbl
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Ipaf in numbers
Established: 2008
Prize money: $50,000 (Dh183,650) for winners and $10,000 for those on the shortlist.
Winning novels: 13
Shortlisted novels: 66
Longlisted novels: 111
Total number of novels submitted: 1,780
Novels translated internationally: 66
10 tips for entry-level job seekers
- Have an up-to-date, professional LinkedIn profile. If you don’t have a LinkedIn account, set one up today. Avoid poor-quality profile pictures with distracting backgrounds. Include a professional summary and begin to grow your network.
- Keep track of the job trends in your sector through the news. Apply for job alerts at your dream organisations and the types of jobs you want – LinkedIn uses AI to share similar relevant jobs based on your selections.
- Double check that you’ve highlighted relevant skills on your resume and LinkedIn profile.
- For most entry-level jobs, your resume will first be filtered by an applicant tracking system for keywords. Look closely at the description of the job you are applying for and mirror the language as much as possible (while being honest and accurate about your skills and experience).
- Keep your CV professional and in a simple format – make sure you tailor your cover letter and application to the company and role.
- Go online and look for details on job specifications for your target position. Make a list of skills required and set yourself some learning goals to tick off all the necessary skills one by one.
- Don’t be afraid to reach outside your immediate friends and family to other acquaintances and let them know you are looking for new opportunities.
- Make sure you’ve set your LinkedIn profile to signal that you are “open to opportunities”. Also be sure to use LinkedIn to search for people who are still actively hiring by searching for those that have the headline “I’m hiring” or “We’re hiring” in their profile.
- Prepare for online interviews using mock interview tools. Even before landing interviews, it can be useful to start practising.
- Be professional and patient. Always be professional with whoever you are interacting with throughout your search process, this will be remembered. You need to be patient, dedicated and not give up on your search. Candidates need to make sure they are following up appropriately for roles they have applied.
Arda Atalay, head of Mena private sector at LinkedIn Talent Solutions, Rudy Bier, managing partner of Kinetic Business Solutions and Ben Kinerman Daltrey, co-founder of KinFitz
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
BIGGEST CYBER SECURITY INCIDENTS IN RECENT TIMES
SolarWinds supply chain attack: Came to light in December 2020 but had taken root for several months, compromising major tech companies, governments and its entities
Microsoft Exchange server exploitation: March 2021; attackers used a vulnerability to steal emails
Kaseya attack: July 2021; ransomware hit perpetrated REvil, resulting in severe downtime for more than 1,000 companies
Log4j breach: December 2021; attackers exploited the Java-written code to inflitrate businesses and governments
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
The%20specs
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The specs
Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Power: 620hp from 5,750-7,500rpm
Torque: 760Nm from 3,000-5,750rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed dual-clutch auto
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh1.05 million ($286,000)
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
A cryptocurrency primer for beginners
Cryptocurrency Investing for Dummies – by Kiana Danial
There are several primers for investing in cryptocurrencies available online, including e-books written by people whose credentials fall apart on the second page of your preferred search engine.
Ms Danial is a finance coach and former currency analyst who writes for Nasdaq. Her broad-strokes primer (2019) breaks down investing in cryptocurrency into baby steps, while explaining the terms and technologies involved.
Although cryptocurrencies are a fast evolving world, this book offers a good insight into the game as well as providing some basic tips, strategies and warning signs.
Begin your cryptocurrency journey here.
Available at Magrudy’s , Dh104
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