Comedian Michael Che has beaten a copyright suit alleging he ripped off the idea for one of his sketches from a series of TikTok videos called “HomeGirl Hotline” by Kelly Manno. According to a ruling issued Wednesday tossing the case, Manno’s jokes are too abstract to be protectable under copyright law.
In December, Manno sued Che and NBCUniversal, among other producers and broadcasters of HBO comedy sketch show That Damn Michael Che. Manno, who has 1.3 million followers on TikTok, claimed that Che copied jokes in her videos touting a service allowing customers to summon a “homegirl” to fight on their behalf. She pointed to both works depicting variations on the same theme of violence and vengeance and the similar structure in which the sketches unfolded.
“The First Work and the Episode are both punctuated with the protagonist expressing a variation of the phrase ‘Thank you Homegirl Hotline’ and ‘Thank you Homegrrl,’ respectively,” states the complaint.
U.S. District Judge Denise Cote, however, found that Manno failed to argue that any of the elements of her videos are protected under copyright law. She found that the underlying premise regarding the need for a “homegirl” in the works is inherently different.
“In the Videos a woman calls for a homegirl; in the Episode, a man calls a homegirl to fight his battles since he cannot be seen striking a woman,” reads the order. “To the extent that any similarities exist between the Episode and the Videos, these elements are not protectible.”
Manno conceded in the case that the idea of hiring someone to fight battles is not protectable under copyright law.
To establish wrongful copying, there must be proof of substantial similarity between the works at issue. Ideas aren’t copyrightable.
The judge also rejected arguments that the characters in both works are substantially similar.
“The two characters are dressed differently; the only apparent similarity is that the characters are both women and both wear sneakers,” the order reads. “Such generic and common characteristics cannot serve as the basis for an infringement claim.”
Manno urged the court to hold off on analyzing whether the sketches are similar enough to violate copyright law until she obtains discovery and expert testimony, but Judge Cote refused. She said it’s appropriate for her to answer the question because the test for a copyright infringement claim is an ordinary observer’s comparison of the works.
Che, NBCUniversal and Manno’s attorney didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
