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If Leno didn’t actually file a lawsuit, and just threatened to, some might call it chin music….now that’s a joke!
Judy Brown, a comedy teacher in Los Angeles, has found herself in a bit of a legal snafu. Ms. Brown has published nineteen so-called “joke books,” which contain the jokes and material of various comedians. Her books include such insightful works as “The Funny Pages” and “Joke Soup.” And while she attributes the material in her books, some of the quoted comedians aren’t so pleased. So she’s now being sued by, among others, Jay Leno, Rita Rudner and Jimmy Brogan. They allege that she used her job as a journalist covering the Los Angeles comedy scene to dig up all of the material that she then flipped around and impermissibly used in these books.
Now the fine folks over at TV Squad ask a good question: “Seriously, folks, who the hell is buying ‘joke books’ anyway?” But I think they’re really missing the heart of the issue here - can we really call the words of Leno or Rudner “jokes?”
In fact, shouldn’t anyone who actually purchased these books be the ones suing Judy Brown for false advertising?
Comments
Haven't you ever seen the office on nbc, steve carrell's character is just the type to buy a joke book. In the show he actually owns a joke book. Which although might seem far-fetched is very close to the reality I used to lead as a account executive for a financial services company. My boss had a joke book as well, he often quoted it as if it was scripture. I am sure some of the lame ducks that came out of his mouth were likely Leno jokes.
Posted by Smitty | December 1, 2006 11:57 AM