Copyright on a 'joke'

MileCreations · Nov 22, 2012

I was wondering if anyone knows the copyright situations surrounding a joke. I was thinking of making a short film based off of a joke but I'm worried it might somehow be copyrighted.
For example could I make film about say a blonde joke, or a knock-knock joke? They feel like they've been around forever and doing a quick search on 'rights' 'copyright' and similar with those jokes I have not recovered any helpful information

that1guyy · Nov 22, 2012

I highly doubt those things are copy righted.

Sweetie · Nov 22, 2012

They are, but the likelihood that you're going to get in trouble, especially if you're not going out for a blockbuster movie is small.

Good news for you, you cannot copyright the idea of the joke, just the wording. You should be fine so long as you don't copy it verbatim.

mus · Nov 22, 2012

the ones whom you dont know who it originated from aren't copyrighted.

MileCreations · Nov 23, 2012

Sweetie said:
Good news for you, you cannot copyright the idea of the joke, just the wording. You should be fine so long as you don't copy it verbatim.

Thanks! This is pretty much what I was thinking was the situation but thought I should get a few more opinions first, so asked here

8salacious9 · Nov 23, 2012

how can you copyright a joke unless it is extremely specific? comedians use jokes all the time that they heard from somewhere else and they get paid for it, thats more cause to get sued than a film, id say go ahead with it, its not likely to cause enough attention to get sued anyway. plus who can prove that the comedian came up with the joke?

MileCreations · Nov 23, 2012

8salacious9 said:
how can you copyright a joke unless it is extremely specific? comedians use jokes all the time that they heard from somewhere else and they get paid for it, thats more cause to get sued than a film, id say go ahead with it, its not likely to cause enough attention to get sued anyway. plus who can prove that the comedian came up with the joke?

I've heard of magicians tricks being copyrighted, at least the specific way they go about doing the trick

Lucky Hardwood · Nov 24, 2012

Many magicians' tricks are patented (the apparatus) or trademarked (the name/reveal). Jokes are copyright the original writer. The difficulty for joke writers is proving that they are the original writer. They could register with the copyright office, but it still might not hold up in court because many, if not most, are considered derivative works. What does this mean for you as a screenwriter? Pretty much nothing. As has been said, as long as you don't use the joke verbatim in your script, you should be golden. You can base a screenplay on a joke, urban legend, tall tale, or any other oral history device without infringing on any intellectual property. Keep in mind that I am in no way a lawyer of any kind and am not offering legal advice. As is my usual advice, when in doubt consult an entertainment lawyer.