Howard Leib | Court Jester Legal

I made you something. Marketing people call it a lead magnet. I call it a bribe. The Court Jester's Checklist: 8 ways to protect the business side of your comedy career. Free for your email. howardleiblaw.com/checklist.… Attorney advertising. #CourtJesterLegal

The First Amendment protects a comic's act from the government, not from critics. Criticism is speech too. The government rarely punishes jokes. The paperwork does: the morals clause, the right to cut a set, the booking that doesn't recur. #standupcomedy #EntertainmentLaw

The front row didn't sign a release. A club generally isn't a private place, and recording notices help. But image rights vary by state. When a crowd work clip built around one person takes off, get a one-page release. Beats a takedown demand. #standupcomedy #EntertainmentLaw

Format is powerful. War of the Worlds scared people in 1938 because it borrowed the clothing of real news. Every mockumentary, fake sketch-show ad, and parody news desk works the same muscle. That's why broadcasters started adding disclaimers. #comedyhistory #standupcomedy

Oct 30, 1938: Orson Welles's War of the Worlds aired as news bulletins. Historians say the "mass panic" was mostly a newspaper creation. Satire works when the audience is in on it. A clip stripped of context doesn't bring the room with it. #standupcomedy #comedyhistory

An AI "George Carlin" hour came down after his estate fought it. Who owns a joke a machine helps write? Nov 9, noon ET, free Cornell Keynote: "Claude, Gemini, and Copilot Walk Into a Bar: Who Owns the Punchline?" ecornell.cornell.edu/keynote… #standupcomedy #copyright

The five scariest clauses in a comedy contract: 1. "In perpetuity, all media" 2. The unilateral option 3. An undefined morals clause 4. Unlimited indemnification 5. Net profits, defined by them All negotiable before you sign. Happy Halloween. #standupcomedy #EntertainmentLaw

John Cleese was born 87 years ago today, October 27, 1939. He changed comedy at least twice: Monty Python, then Fawlty Towers. Just twelve episodes. Scarcity protected the asset: there's no tired eighth season to remember. #comedyhistory #OnThisDay

On November 9 I'm doing an interview on AI and comedy for Cornell's free online lecture/interview series. What do you want to know about AI and comedy? Reply or DM me your questions. They might make it into the presentation. #standupcomedy #AI

My only paid gig on the NYC audition trail: a bringer show at the Lotus Room, a Thai place across from Penn Station. Look like you had 3 friends? 50 minutes and half the door. The longest, and one of the best, gigs I ever did. I still have the tape. #standupcomedy

Johnny Carson was born 101 years ago today. On Oct. 1, 1962, Groucho Marx introduced him as the new Tonight Show host. He kept the chair 30 years. Comics he waved to the couch saw careers change overnight. One spot. One booker. One yes. #comedyhistory #OnThisDay

"I sold my special." Which parts? A special is a bundle of rights: the jokes, the recording, distribution by platform and territory, clips, audio. "All rights, worldwide, in perpetuity" takes the whole bundle. Know what you're selling. #standupcomedy #copyright

Is a bringer show a scam? It's a business model: you bring the crowd, the venue fills a room on an off night. Ask first: What do I get on tape, and can I post it? Who's in the room? What will my friends spend? Comics are small businesses. Know your costs. #standupcomedy

Jon Stewart signed on to host and executive produce The Daily Show through 2028. Two years, not five: short deals get repriced often. The EP credit puts him where the business gets decided. Sign long when YOU want security, not when they do. #standupcomedy #EntertainmentLaw

Norm Macdonald and Bob Newhart had a mutual admiration society. When Bob hosted SNL in 1995, Norm wrote him the "Postal Worker Evaluation" sketch in Bob's one-sided phone call style. Bob loved it: "Norm, do you mind if I do that in my act?" #standupcomedy #comedyhistory

Before SNL: Your Show of Shows (1950-54). 90 minutes, live, Saturday night, New York, a repertory cast and hungry young writers. Sid Caesar built that formula 25 years early. His rooms launched Mel Brooks, Neil Simon, Larry Gelbart, Woody Allen. #standupcomedy #comedyhistory

The First Amendment protects a comic's monologue from the government, not from critics. Criticism is speech too. The government almost never punishes your jokes. The paperwork does: morals clauses, the right to cut a set, the booking that doesn't recur. #standupcomedy

A morals clause can punish a comic for doing the job they were hired to do. You usually can't strike it, but you can improve it: a reasonable standard, not "sole discretion," no look-back, and notice first. One change? Carve out your material. #standupcomedy #EntertainmentLaw

75 years ago today, Lucy made TV residuals possible. I Love Lucy premiered on CBS October 15, 1951. Lucy and Desi shot on film, took less up front, and kept ownership of the episodes through Desilu. All your residual checks trace back to that bet. #comedyhistory #OnThisDay