That's very good!
Blatant plagiarism Page 2
Very funny MB!
I'm not sure about sitcoms but a friend of mine once submitted an idea for a children's cartoon series to the Beeb and got back a stock response which mentioned something to the effect that 'any resemblance of future programme content to your submission will be entirely co-incidental'.
Well, that's a very nice blanket disclaimer but it sounds very much to me like the Beeb trying to ward off the REAL decider i.e. a court judgement...
That's just routine in the industry. Take it as a compliment if a production company won't read your work without you signing a legal disclaimer. It is done to protect them, but most of them also have in the small print certain obligations on the part of the company not to screw you.
Also, if an amateur writes something good it's in the production companies best interests to find the person who wrote the good stuff, to get more good stuff. They LOVE good stuff.
Well anyway I started this thread in good faith after a PM but it looks like pure coincidence as the radio programme seems to be a repeat from years ago.
22 years ago, in fact.
Quote: Aaron @ March 23, 2008, 9:13 PM22 years ago, in fact.
So the bastards have used a Time Machine. Now that's devious.
Someone heard a 22 year old radio sketch and thought that it was stolen from a 'recent' sketch of theirs? Wouldn't some basic research have yielded a date?
Was it about the miners' strike?
Forget I ever said anything! 
Quote: David Chapman @ March 23, 2008, 8:59 PMWell anyway I started this thread in good faith after a PM but it looks like pure coincidence as the radio programme seems to be a repeat from years ago.
I wouldn't worry. It's a valid point of discussion, and I think it's a worthwhile ppportunity for clearing away people's worries.
I'm now trying to second guess what the show was (and I'd assume we're talking BBC7).
Million Pound Radio show? Radio Active?
Hi,
Haven't posted much here but couldn't resist putting in my two penn'orth. Last
year a new playwriting group put on a five minute play of mine about a bloke of about Macca's age which had the lines near the end:
"‘cept nobody’s holding my hand now. Nobody’s gonna tell me what to do."
Today I read in the newspapers that fans are claiming his latest album "Memory Almost Full" contains veiled references to Heather Mills including the line
"No-one to tell me what to do, no-one to hold my hand."
Should I sue? 
lol
Seriously, John Byrne in his book "Writing Comedy" says he can quickly remove any doubt anyone has about such dubious practices. "If you're turning out comedy for any length of time people will *definitely* steal your ideas". (Page 139).
Anyway even if I were deluded enough to think my line had been nicked, how could I prove that I wasn't influenced by the line what he wrote over 40 years ago? And how could I prove he had spies in new playwriting groups? And if some fabulously wealthy songwriting mogul were partaking in such unscrupulous practices, surely he'd be unscrupulous enough to make sure he had a paper trail to show that he wrote the line long before I wrote the play last year? Wow! Anybody want to buy the screenplay?