Bad Karma? Writer Claims 'My Name Is Earl' Is A Knockoff

Posted by Eriq Gardner

Idea theft is a common complaint in entertainment circles and typically not very successful. Few cases ever survive preliminary review. In theory, copyright statutes protect screenplays from having their ideas stolen, and while there have been instances of success, the threshold for proving deliberate copying is high.

That isn't stopping Mark Gable from suing NBC claiming it stole "My Name is Earl" from his screenplay "Karma," which he claims to have circulated around Hollywood in 1995.

According to the complaint, both works include a main character who comes into a large sum of money through the lottery and attempts to use the money to turn bad karma into good karma by seeking out wronged persons from the main character's past in order to make amends.

Starts off pretty good, but then the complaint then reaches for similarities:

-In "Karma," the main character is convicted of taking bribes as a police offer. In the pilot for "My Name is Earl," the main character is convicted of petty theft.

-In "Karma," the main character is visited by an angel who warns him about karma. The character throws a picture of the Angel into the wind and it's mysteriously carried back to his shoulders. In "My Name is Earl," the main character is visited by Carson Daly who has some sort of moral discussion before Earl tosses his lottery ticket into wind, where it's carried back to his shoe.

-In "Karma," the main character is instructed by the angel to get a real job. In "Earl," he gets a straight job.

And so on. We'll let you decide whether these similarities are coincidences or not. But Gable does miss one major element: He doesn't specify exactly how producers of the show got his screenplay or show they were aware of it. His only claim of connection on this front is that "Earl" co-producer Brad Copeland is represented by United Talent Agency, one place the plaintiff submitted his screenplay.

Comments

[earl]

In August of 2005, Gable allegedly discovered that “NBC was airing a new television series entitled, “My Name is Earl” containing the same, somewhat unusual, literary theme as the Screenplay; i.e. turning bad Karma into good Karma by righting past wrongs/making amends. After viewing several episodes of the Television Series, Gable formed the belief that the Television Series was very similar to the screenplay, incorporating wholly original elements therefrom.” Gable hired a third-party to make extensive comparisons between the screenplay and the television series, including the theme, plot, dialog, setting/place, mood, and characters (some of whom have the same names). The results of the comparison led Gable to believe that his screenplay was copied and the lawsuit was filed. The case is titled: Mark Gable v. National Broadcasting Company (“NBC”) and Gregory Thomas Garcia, CV08-04013 SVW (C.D. Cal. 2008).

[reporter]

Dear Mr. Eric Gardner;
As I read over this filed complaint. It is clearly stated “Earl” creator/producer/writer/director Greg Garcia is represented by CAA, another place the plaintiff submitted his screenplay. How can you overlook this, Mr. Gardner? It’s distinctly articulated? Knowing this, isn’t your job to report all the facts, and not give your personal unprofessional bias opinion Mr. Gardner?

[Jeff's wife]

there's another lawsuit against NBC and the tv show Heroes for copyright infringement in a nyc appellate court filed by two nyc artists called The Eele Twins.
the facts of Mark Gable's lawsuit will not be reported with any truth because most of these blogs are owned and ran by nbc employees and suckers that think by siding with nbc , the beast may just make them a "star".
Good luck to Mark Gable, you're suing the lowest scum network in tv.
nbc is a 4th rate cow with no hit shows.

[pepper spray]

the system that nbc has to rip other artists off of their original work is heinous and no different from bernard Madoff's ponzi scam.

nbc hires a bunch of no talent hacks that have access to pitch and sell stolen work to nbc as their own with no threat of incarceration from the court system because of corrupt judges bought and paid for by nbc and GE's power and wealth.

that same power and wealth is why bernard madoff is sitting in a $7 million dollar penthouse instead of a nyc jail.

nbc is not worried about mark gable's or those nyc artists lawsuit because they know the courts will rule in the favor of nbc..

i went to a black artist's show named enjai eele at hunter college nyc in 2005, and eele demonstrated why he could paint the future.
eele was invited by hunter college to teach this artform to the students and what it meant to be a regular person with such an extraordinary ability.
to watch this drug free artist that uses his ability to help save and heal lives be turned into a silly cheesy cartoon latino artist that can paint the future after he shoots up drug is really sad.
And to watch that heinous theft flop in the ratings, confuse the audience and sling the careers-brands of several young actors into the toilet is tragic.

My name is Earl? Yeah.. i believe the show's name was once Karma written by Mark Gable.
here's some karma... that bitch is in 4th place.
with no hits in sight.

[rotten yogurt]

What's really interesting is how those nbc hacks have no problem accepting awards for work they did not create.
they want to be rich and famous at any cost.

it didn't work for that clown tim kring or his buddy jeph loeb.
i'm sorry i can't write... i'm sorry i was trying to be cute at 52 years old by calling nbc's fans saps and dipshits.
boo hoo... i'm sorry, i didn't know... like oh my god... like really...

jeff zucker looked liked a bozo at the golden globe awards as he realized without tracy morgan, tina fey and alec baldwin he couldn't feed his family.
memo to ms. zucker and ms. kring: Run Bitches!!!!!!!!

[ricky bobby]

GOOD LUCK TO MARK GABLE .
GOOD LUCK TO THE NYC ARTISTS.
LET'S SEE IF THE MEDIA WILL REPORT ON THESE LAWSUITS AGAINST NBC.
DOES ANYONE KNOW WHAT THE JUDGE'S DECISION WAS IN MARK GABLE'S CASE AGAINST NBC ?

[Educate yourself]

of course NBC would turn a drug free black artist that can paint the future in real life into a drug addicted latino artist that can paint the future on a lame show like Heroes.
of course NBC stole Mark Gable's work Karma.
without Mark Gable's stolen work, jeff zucker couldn't eat or live in the Hamptons in a multi-million dollar house.

Jeff Zucker is evil and having cancer taught him no life lessons.
A man that really cares about his family's safety wouldn't go around supporting hack writers that rip off other talent like Mark Gable.
zucker is lucky that Gable is not a gang member from the MS 13, Zetas or a Crips.
NBC is going to steal from the wrong people soon and someone is going to make it clear to NBC that people die everyday for less.
Read the local papers, people are killing other people over nothing.

the law is designed to put poor people in jail for stealing, not rich people like jeff zucker and bernard madoff.
ghetto youth steals a t-shirt from NBC's store at 30 rock in NYC and goes straight to jail.
NBC steals Mark Gable's copyrighted original work and NBC gets to play with this man's life in court for the next 3-4 years and make millions of dollars, receive golden globe awards for work their hack writers have no talent or skills to create and posh lifestyles in the Hamptons for the ceo's of NBC..
My heart goes out to Mr. Gable and those NYC artists.
Thank You both for being non-violent people and choosing to solve your problems with this criminal enterprise through professional legal means and positive intelligent behavior.
All 3 artists in these lawsuit against NBC are perfect role models for at-risk youth.

[hot buttered biscuits]

maybe My Name Is Earl is getting cancelled because NBC & 20TH Century Fox
know now after all the evidence
that was provided by Mark Gable’s
world renown lawyers, that garcia really
did rip off Mark Gable's script Karma. And NBC & 20TH Century Fox are embarrassed to be associated with garcia.

[Josvdv]

Really? All you do is taking time for posting completely partial comments? C'mon.

It is obvious that all the above comments are from the same person, just thinking about the homogenious reaction from the author.

A plot line doesn't make all My Name is Earl a rip off. There are tons and tons of movies with similar synopsis.