Joke thief?

A few months ago, Marc Maron did a two-part interview (Part One / Part Two) with Carlos Mencia that raises some complicated questions about intellectual property. If you have time, please listen to this interview (Part One / Part Two). It is a fascinating look at a very successful person in a creative field who doesn't seem to be particularly creative.

Mencia has been accused of taking original material from other comics and performing the jokes on his TV show and HBO specials without compensating the creators or even giving them writing credit. But can a comedian own a premise? Are poets or musicians who riff on the work of other artists stealing that material? Is it okay for a comic to take a premise that's been used by another comedian, put his spin on it and make money from it? Is being derivative an artistic sin? I think these questions are pertinent to any artist. Actually, listening to this interview with Mencia makes me think about writing poems--even a good idea for a poem takes a long time and a lot of work to develop into something of value. And unlike poets, who get feedback in the collegial setting of workshop, comics typically have to workshop their ideas in front of a room full of drunk people.

Comics are generally sympathetic to the difficulty of this development process, so Mencia has become an outcast in his creative community as a result of the allegations of theft. (Spicy language!)


But is Mencia stealing the craft of other artists? Should Mencia get credit for performing the jokes well, even if he didn't write the original bit? Some of the material he's accused of stealing can't be called original. They're jokes that are so obvious, everyone makes them:


But Mencia has also allegedly lifted some bits that are well-known in the comedy community as a result of having been developed and previously performed by influential comics:

A bit from Bill Cosby


A bit from Sam Kinison


A bit from George Carlin (spicy language!)


And a line from a song (spicy language!)


These are just the handful of incidents that have gotten a lot of hits on YouTube. If the allegations are true, who knows how many unknown comics Mencia may have taken material from? Part two of the interview (Part One / Part Two) recounts disturbing allegations that Mencia damaged the career of up-and-coming comedian, Freddie Soto, by appropriating his material.