In a reversal of the familar pattern, a Christian publisher is being threatened with legal action by comedians upset by the use of their catchphrases on evangelical posters aimed at teenagers.The catchprases, such as Catherine Tate's adolescent 'Am I bovvered?' and Little Britain character Vicky Pollard's 'Yeah but no...' have long been popular in playgrounds (much to the annoyance of teachers), and indeed on other TV shows and the media generally. While the agency acting for the Little Britain creators insists that it would do the same with any business violating their copyright, it seems likely that the offence is compounded by the fact that Evangelical Christians promote values different from those current among the media class, especially on the subject of homosexuality. No doubt the comedians' objections have merit politically, but enforcing 'copyright' like this is a churlish and censorious way to register displeasure. Whatever the legal case, objecting when someone else uses your catchphrase is ridiculous as well as mean-spirited. Wouldn't these comedians be better off making a joke of the Evangelicals if they dislike them so much, rather than making a po-faced joke of themselves?
Dolan Cummings
1 comment:
Whether their objections have merit politically is neither here nor there; it's whether they have merit legally that counts.
And frankly I'm surprised that a company would sell merchandise for £25 quid a go that rips off other people's intellectual property. Didn't they realise what they were doing was somewhat iffy to say the least?
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