LEGAL ISSUES AND HUMOR
The Media Law Journal (April 24, 2013) stated, “it’s not that the law clearly protects humorous speech and satire. The question is a bit vexed.” “With cases involving outrageous parody and satire, the path of least resistance has been to find the ‘speech’ non-defamatory as a matter of law.” Satire is “the use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people’s stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues.” The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press states that “Satire and Parody are important forms of political commentary that rely on blurring the line between truth and outrageousness to attack, scorn and ridicule public figures.” “Although they may be offensive and intentionally injurious, these statements contain constitutionally protected ideas and opinions provided a reasonable reader would not mistake the statements as describing actual facts.”
Comedians and writers can make a living from writing original jokes, but not all jokes can be copyrighted. A joke must be original, and fixed in some tangible form to be eligible for copyright protection, so jokes that are only uttered verbally are ineligible. Videos, books, and recordings of jokes may be eligible for copyright protection because they are recorded in tangible form. Jokes must also be original.
Minor variations of other people’s jokes are not eligible for copyright protection; also generalized humorous observations might not be eligible. The “Fair-Use” exception to copyright laws allows short excerpts of copyrighted material to be used for educational use, for parody, for scholarly review and similar purposes. Normally only longer jokes, humorous essays, or collections of jokes are copyrighted because other performers could work your jokes into their routines, and claim that they were parodying your jokes.
VOLTAIRE SAID: “It is forbidden to kill; therefore, all murderers are punished unless they kill in large numbers and to the sound of trumpets.”
HONORÉ DE BALZAC SAID: “Laws are spider webs through which the big flies pass and the little ones get caught.
JIMMY CARTER SAID: “Penalties against possession of a drug should not be more damaging to an individual than the use of the drug itself.”
What does the law say about the protection of satire, irony, parody, and jokes?
In the United States, satire/parody is generally protected speech, but it should be clearly identified as such.
Copyright law (in the US) protects IDEAS, fixed in a tangible means of expression. You could copyright the word of the joke in order, but I doubt you could copyright the joke in a way that prevents someone else from "adapting" it and telling it a bit differently to the same humorous effect.
Michael: Good point. I think that jokes are like poetry. The form is almost more important than the substance in terms of copyright law.
The law protects satire, irony, parody, and jokes as a form of free speech and expression under the First Amendment. Satire humorously mocks and scorns individuals and political practices, and it is protected speech under the First Amendment. Parody uses copyrighted works for purposes that fair use was designed to protect. However, there are still legal issues concerning libel, emotional distress, and copyright infringement that may arise in certain situations. A joke must be original and fixed in some tangible form to be eligible for copyright protection, so jokes that are only uttered verbally are ineligible for protection. While satire and parody are protected under the First Amendment, creators of parody may face questions of copyright infringement. Overall, the law protects satire, irony, parody, and jokes as a form of free speech and expression, but there are still legal issues that may arise in certain situations. Best regards
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