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Rinkoff v Baby Cow Productions

British High Court case From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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Rinkoff v Baby Cow Productions is a 2025 British High Court case involving the topic of what are informally called "format rights".

The claimant Joshua Rinkoff had created a YouTube show called "Shambles" that mixed stand-up comedy routines with a backstage sitcom drama, based on his own experience of presenting live stand-up comedy shows. Baby Cow Productions released a TV show Live at the Moth Club, broadcast on UKTV, that Rinkoff claimed infringed his copyright in the format of "Shameless".[1]

Following arguments in court, the Recorder Amanda Michaels ruled that, although there were some similarities between the two shows, they were not sufficiently specific to constitute copyright infringement.[2][3]

Legal commentators stated that the case demonstrated that a high level of specificity was required in order to prove copyright infringement in cases involving format claims.[4][5]

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Cases cited

  • Banner Universal Motion Pictures v Endemol Shine Group (re Minute Winner)[6]
  • Shazam Productions Ltd v Only Fools the Dining Experience Ltd. (re Only Fools and Horses)
  • Green v Broadcasting Corporation of New Zealand (re Opportunity Knocks)

References

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