Credit me when you copy my jokes — Lekzy DeComic

Fast-rising comedian, Lekzy DeComic, has expressed displeasure at the manner jokes and creative works from comedians are being used by the public and some media outlets without permission and not giving them the due credit.

According to Lekzy,  the comedians put in a lot of  time and effort to create jokes but their hard work is ignored and some defaulters are even making money off the comedians.

Lekzy told the Daily Graphic that browsing through YouTube, he often notices short clips and videos of comedy skits of he and other comedians uploaded on the channels of total strangers who use the videos to amass views and followers on their pages.

Lekzy DeComic said that habit undermined the creativity and credibility of the originators.

“As a stand-up comedian running a monthly comedy show, I equate copying my jokes without crediting me to sleeping with my wife. People come to my show and later post my jokes on their social media pages without crediting me,” he said.

“When you attend a comedy show, you only pay for the performance so you’re prohibited from filming the session with your phone or any other recording device. Whoever wants to film the show  for whatever reason  must first seek permission from the organisers. Just as musicians have rights over their songs, jokes of comedians are their intellectual property  and  cannot be exploited  without their permission or consent,” he added.