OFFICE POLITICS

The BBC reports that the BBC is investigating similarities between Stromberg, shown on ProSieben, and its hit show The Office. There are allegedly similarities between the central characters in the two shows as well as two other characters. The German channel has denied charges of copying, pointing out that the programme is based on German humour that would not appeal to British tastes. "We take our formats and programmes very seriously so we are looking in to it," said a BBC spokeswoman.



The IPKat issues a gentle reminder that ideas aren’t protected under copyright law. He also wonders how easy it would be to prove copying, since The Office is meant to resonate with stereotypical (albeit exaggerated) office politics that are familiar to many workers across the world.



Office politics here

German humour and here