Harry Deansway considers Steve Coogan an ‘icon’ of British comedy.
But after 20 years in the industry he is persona non grata – and ruined – all because he took on the might of Mr Coogan’s BBC-backed TV empire.
‘I’m worried I might even have to sell my dog. Maybe as a fellow comic he will show some mercy’, Harry told MailOnline today.
Mr. Deansway has been instructed to pay a significant court fee of £61,000 after he took legal action against Coogan’s production company, alleging that it imitated his innovative YouTube program ‘Shambles’.
He, along with his legal representatives and copyright experts, strongly believed that Coogan’s company, Baby Cow Productions, had copied the concept of his show and adapted it for their series ‘Live at the Moth Club’.
Harry identified approximately 170 resemblances between the two programs, which his lawyers argued were more than mere coincidences. However, despite their claims, a judge ruled in favor of Coogan, leaving the comedian and writer facing the risk of financial ruin.
The might of the BBC, whose production arm BBC Studios bought a stake in Baby Cow in 2008, is also a factor, he says.
He is asking the Alan Partridge star, who has suffered his ups and downs in his own life and career but is still worth an estimated £20million, to show him some compassion and clemency after he ‘risked everything’ in a High Court battle with Baby Cow.
And just this week Steve asked magistrates in Birmingham to show leniency and not ban him from driving after using the new series of his hit show The Trip as an excuse when he was caught doing 97mph on the M6.
‘If I were unable to drive, the production would likely be unable to proceed’, Coogan begged.
Harry Deansway with his dog Luna, who Harry claims he could have to sell to pay the £61,000 in costs he owes to Steve Coogan’s production company
Harry Deansway claimed Mr Coogan’s Baby Cow Productions stole the format of his show ‘Shambles’, repurposing it for Baby Cow’s 2022 series ‘Live at the Moth Club.’ He lost the case and was left with a bill that will leave him bankrupt
Baby Cow, co-founded by Mr Coogan, argued that Shambles was not original at all and their show was different. They won the case – Mr Deansway hopes Coogan will show ‘mercy’
But for Harry Deansway, whose real name is Joshua Rinkoff, his career has well and truly stalled.
‘I’m also persona non grata in the comedy industry, an industry I have made immense contributions to over a twenty year career, as it is not seen as the done thing to sue the industry’s biggest production company especially one that is owned by one of UK comedy’s biggest personalities, maybe as a fellow comic he will show some mercy on me’, he said.
‘All I can hope, as I will no doubt have to file for bankruptcy, is that people watch both shows which are freely available online and make their own judgement’.
Harry claims that by bringing the claim against the might of Mr Coogan’s comedy empire he has been totally ‘ostracised’ in the world of comedy – and the financial might of the business, which is 25% owned by the BBC, means he has given up hope of an appeal.
‘The decision to take legal action against the BBC backed Baby Cow productions owned by Steve Coogan was not an easy one and much thought was given to it before embarking on this costly case that I risked everything to bring’, he said.
‘Although we lost in court I see it as a victory that we were able to get it to trial at all with such limited means and just the enthusiasm and expertise of a committed legal team who thought the case deserved to be heard against the seemingly infinite resources of the BBC owned Baby Cow.
‘I am left with no option to appeal or legally challenge the costs due my financial restraints, I have no choice but to accept my fate meanwhile my opponent has unlimited funds.
‘Although it seems unfair, there is not much more I can do legally’.
Mr Deansway is convinced that the two shows bear striking similarities, both featuring a blend of actual stand-up with a sitcom set in a real-life comedy club.
He continues to ask fans to compare the two shows for themselves – but admits he cannot afford to pursue the case any further.
Deansway previously ran The Fix comedy magazine and was briefly comedy editor of The Guardian Guide. He also had two successful shows on the Edinburgh Fringe.
But his great hope was his web series Shambles, which combined live stand-up with scripted comedy at a down-at-heel comedy club.
So imagine his shock when during the pandemic Baby Cow released a show on Dave that followed a similar theme.
Harry still claims that Baby Cow had ‘blatantly’ ripped off the idea for Live at the Moth Club.
Live at the Moth Club is set in a run-down comedy club. Pictured: Seb Cardinal (left) and Dustin Demri-Burns (right), who appeared in the Baby Cow show. He is best known for his work in Cardinal Burns and Slow Horses.
Mr Rinkoff said the series bore a striking similarity to his web series, Shambles (pictured), which is also set in a run-down comedy club. But his High Court claim failed
Even the judge in the High Court found that Baby Cow’s show appeared to have the ‘same central underlying idea’. Harry had even worked with Live at the Moth Club’s writer Rupert Majendie, also a boss at Baby Cow, on the comedy circuit.
But High Court Recorder Amanda Michaels said the format of Deansway’s series was ‘was not protected as a copyright work,’ adding: ‘Had I found there to be any such copyright, I would in any event have found that it was not infringed by the defendant.’
And Recorder Michaels said she ‘believed’ the writers of the show when they told the court they had not been aware of Shambles before Mr Deansway had brought the case.
Baby Cow claimed Mr Deansway’s show was not original but reproduced ideas already used in comedy classics including Seinfeld and The Muppet Show.
Recorder Michaels last week threw out Mr Deansway’s claim and has now ordered him to foot Baby Cow’s lawyers’ bills to a total of £61,000.
Harry says his David Vs Goliath battle came ‘at great personal and financial cost’ – but he has no regrets.
He is making ends meet working as a pub DJ on the weekends and runs a ‘chaotic’ comedy night called Rats every Tuesday night at club 21 Soho in central London. He is also writing a book, which he hopes to publish by the end of the year.
But there is no getting away from the toll his battle with Baby Cow has taken on him personally.
The judge had said that Harry had ‘lost objectivity about this case’. He remains ‘convinced’ that Shambles was copied.
‘I was advised by my team that we had a good chance of winning and an even better chance of proving direct copying’, he said.
‘My preparations going in included getting an independent TV journalist to assess both shows well as the expert opinion of a specialist copyright lawyer who offered to represent me.
‘All of this along with what I had seen with my own eyes was enough to convince me that objectively my show had been copied.
‘Sadly we weren’t able to prove that or that it was protectable by British copyright law had it been. And I am now paying dearly as a result’.
Harry has been financially ruined by a High Court case
Harry believes that he will have to declare himself bankrupt
He is making ends meet with pub DJ gigs as well as a Soho comedy night called Rats
The judge in the case admitted that an ‘enormous amount of money’ had been spent on the dispute, but court rules in intellectual property cases limited Mr Deansway’s bill to £61,000.
At the High Court in November, the judge heard that Mr Deansway’s Shambles show was based on his own experiences as a promoter in a London comedy club.
Broadcast in two series on YouTube in 2013 and 2015, it featured a blend of real life stand-up comedy with a sitcom based backstage and involving the performers.
Baby Cow is home to many comedies, including the much-loved Alan Partridge
His lawyers argued that Shambles is protected as a ‘dramatic work’ under the Copyright Designs and Patent Act 1988 and that his copyright had been infringed by Baby Cow’s ‘Moth Club’.
Barrister, Dr Timothy Sampson, said Mr Deansway had identified 170 similarities between the two shows, which ‘simply could not all have arisen by coincidence.’
They included the setting in a real comedy club, blending of live acts with sitcom elements, the use of a fly-on-the-wall documentary style and numerous ‘parallel characters.’
There were also ‘similar/identical running jokes’ in the two shows, including the owner of the club attempting to fix the dilapidated state of it.
Giving evidence, Mr Deansway said taking on such a big name player as Mr Coogan’s company had dire consequences for his comedy career.
‘As a result of the legal action, I have been ostracised from the comedy industry,’ he said in his evidence.
Lawyers for Baby Cow argued that their show had ‘evidently not been copied from the other’ and in her judgment Recorder Michaels found in the company’s favour.
Harry Deansway, real name Joshua Rinkoff, pictured outside the High Court where he brought a case against Steve Coogan’s Baby Cow Productions
She found that the ‘format’ of Mr Deansway’s show was not protected by copyright and, even if it had been, she would not have found it infringed by Baby Cow.
‘The alleged similarities between the characters of the managers/owners of the clubs and their useless assistants do not seem to me to suggest copying so much as the use of stock characters,’ she said.
Recorder Michaels went on to rule that Mr Deansway is liable for Baby Cow’s costs of fighting the trial.
‘They clearly are the winning party and are entitled to their costs,’ she said.
The court heard Baby Cow’s cost of fighting the case amounted to well over £100,000, but that court rules limit the order against Mr Deansway to £60,000, plus £1,000 in extra fees.
A Baby Cow spokesperson said: ‘We’re pleased that the court has ruled that Live At The Moth Club is a wholly original work that had creative input from a number of people who had never previously heard of Shambles or its creator.
‘The claim was defended on that basis and the Judge has found conclusively in Baby Cow’s favour on all issues.’
