Is my joke protected by copyright? : an analysis of joke theft and copyright in stand-up comedy

Abstract

Often, existing artistic works are used in part by other creators as a means to create new artistic work. Copyright law attempts to strike a balance between the rights of the user and the protections of the copyright owner. In Canada, there is some ambiguity in copyright law as it pertains to performance-based art forms such as stand-up comedy. Stand-up comedy creations may be protected as literary or as this paper argues, dramatic works. A performer’s performance of comedic work is also protected, but comedians still may not be adequately protected by copyright law. The web series Killing Gerry coupled with this support paper, seeks to examine a specific example of an alleged infringement on copyright to illuminate limitations of the law for stand-up comedians.