Leno, et al., settle in joke book case
Gina Serpe writing for Eonline.com tells of the resolution of the lawsuit that Leno (and NBC and a gaggle of other comedians) brought against joke book author Judy Brown. The deal involves cash (going to charity) and an agreement from the publishers to cease the distribution, manufacture and sale of the 19 joke books that were published by three different publishers.
“I thought it was important to make it clear that jokes are protected like any other art form,” Leno said of the case. “On behalf of the tremendous and talented group of writers we have at The Tonight Show and many other hardworking comedians, I’m very glad we’ve been able to stop this practice once and for all.”
Leno’s lawyer said:
The settlement sends a strong message that the intellectual property rights of comedy writers must be respected.
2 Responses
Reply to: Leno, et al., settle in joke book case
I’m really lgad this happenned, not because Judy Brown stole one of my jokes, but because she attributed a really lame joke that I would never have told to me in one of her books. People who bought it got the idea that that was the sort of joke I told. I’m glade she can’t do that anymore.
Two things to note:“The deal involves cash (going to charity)”and “I thought it was important to make it clear that jokes are protected like any other art form,” Leno said of the case. “On behalf of the tremendous and talented group of writers we have at The Tonight Show and many other hardworking comedians, I’m very glad we’ve been able to stop this practice once and for all.”I wonder whether the hard working writers have a say in the charity their money will be going to. I suspect a few of them would like to see it go into their personal ‘starving strking writer’s fun’.