NLIU LAW REVIEW

Horizontal and Vertical Protection of Copyright in Stand-up Comedy

Chetan R.

In today’s day and age, with numerous streaming platforms present online, stand-up comedy remains one of the most watched categories of entertainment. Additionally, stand-up comedy in live performances and theatres has also gained extensive support and grown to an enormous extent in the country. With such great popularity of this field, there arises a great need for recognising and regulating the rights and duties vested in the parties involved in the making of such stand-up comedy videos and performances. However, with the lack of any special law for stand-up comedy, recourse has to be sought to the existing legal framework within the copyright laws of India, i.e., the Copyright Act, 1957, and the subsequent jurisprudence. This article aims to venture into this exercise of placing standup comedy within the Copyright Act, 1957 and its subsequent precedents, along with precedents from different jurisdictions, particularly the United States. This article adopts two methods of viewing this issue, firstly, in a horizontal manner, i.e., copyright issues between stand-up comedians copying each other’s work, and secondly, in a vertical manner, i.e., copyright issues between producers of stand-up comedy shows and the stand-up comedians themselves, who not only write material for their show but also perform the same. The latter perspective is taken particularly in the light of the recent controversy surrounding the complaint lodged against Vir Das by his former producer for alleged copyright infringement from a previous show. This article adopts a comparative analysis with the United States and suggests a way forward for the stand-up comedy industry.