Hypothetical question, I know, but I was wondering if you created a comedy character and they were used on an advert would you get paid for creating the character? Could the actor not do the advert without your permission or do you sell the rights to the company who buys your comedy character?
For instance, say Del Boy or Swiss Toni advertised a new car. Would John Sullivan and Higson or Whitehouse get some of the advertising money?
Mrs Doyle was in an ad a while back. Go to Linehan's blog and ask.
Well the author will always own copyright on his original work however this is a hell of a tricky area of law. I would have to say, in general, no the author would not get any payment unless the character used catchphrases written by the author. Thefore they also wouldn't need to ask your permission either.
However the original production company and the actor have more rights and could both prevent the character from appearing.
My advice is if you're going to create the next Alan Partridge then play the role yourself.
All those birthday cards that have sitcom characters on them and their catchphrases spoken (by an impersonator) when they are opened - the writer gets none of the money from those (Ricky Gervais was complaining about it). So I guess it's the same with adverts.
I know it's not a character, but Simon Pegg's first apperance on tv is on youtube.com, at the time I didn't realise it was him because I was so young but watching it back I remember it vividly.
Is it that ad for some kind of hayfever medicine or something?
As far as I'm aware, everything you create: characters, specific plots, dialogue is yours. You own the copyright the moment it's committed to media of any sort. Nobody can take a character you've created and write sketches around them without your permission.
But when you sign a deal with a production company, I was told (by a twice BAFTA winner) that a standard clause includes the notion that the company buys the rights to those characters. The company then owns your characters. So permission to use a character is sought from the company you sold the rights to.
Apparently, this is to prevent a situation where you become famous on one channel and then switch to another for more cash. Although it is possible (if the writer is in a more powerful position) to prevent that or to negotiate an amicable move. Normally it's those companies that recieve product royalties, not the writer.
So here I agree with Gervais et al. It is unfair that someone else profits in such a way from your own work, but that's the risk THEY take when they sign you up.
If a character like Swiss Tony is used, the actor can negotiate performance rights. If the agreement between writer and production company has lapsed then I think ownership automatically reverts back to the writer.
Quote: zooo @ September 5, 2007, 11:37 PMIs it that ad for some kind of hayfever medicine or something?
Yep.
Quote: hotzappa11 @ September 5, 2007, 11:21 PMI know it's not a character, but Simon Pegg's first apperance on tv is on youtube.com, at the time I didn't realise it was him because I was so young but watching it back I remember it vividly.
Yes they showed the clip on a tv show a while ago and I remembered the advert, didn't seem like that long ago since it was on telly, musta been before '99 though?
I don't remember the Simon Pegg ad. Anyone got a link?
It depends who owns the characters when they are created. A prime example is K-9 from DOCTOR WHO. Bob Baker owns the rights to the tin dog, so the BBC payed to use him for WHO in Season Two, but Baker refused to let them use him for SARAH JANE ADVENTURES (except the pilot) as he is developing his own show on a different channel with K-9 that'll air supposedly in 2008. Same thing with Terry Nation's Estate and the Daleks. Though some characters are owned by the BBC. I think it depends on the initial contract.
People can also buy the rights for a short amount of time, like Big Finish makes the Doctor Who Audios and buys the rights for the old series for a few years at a time. So they can use the old series characters but not the new ones. The characters are still owned by the BBC.
Can you tell I'm a DOCTOR WHO fan?
But it might be adventageous for a company to pay to use a known character, as they'll get more money from the consumer who will respond better to someone they already know.
-Erik
Erik. I've just seen the best Doctor Who based picture ever on your myspace.
Officially.