Copyrighting Comedy
Thanks to Les Weinstein for hipping us to Mark Lacter's Daily Dragon -- this item on Jay Leno's federal copyright infringement action.
It's always been a pretty gray area, but don't tell that to Jay Leno and Rita Rudner who have settled a federal copyright lawsuit against author Judy Brown and several book publishers. The comedians sued Brown in 2006, claiming that she reproduced their jokes, many of which were told on "The Tonight Show," without permission. Brown has collected and repackaged thousands of jokes by various comedians. The settlement also includes monetary compensation, which Leno, Rudner and NBC Studios will donate to charity.
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We've covered this issue before in Disputing Humor: Comedy, Folkways and the Internet here.
