So A Lawyer, A Comedian And An Economist Walk Into A Bar... Copyright, Reputation And Comedy

Techdirt: "A couple of times in the past we've looked at the question of copyright on jokes, noting that there generally isn't 'copyright' on jokes, but that copying jokes can potentially hurt someone's reputation if called on it. In other words, even without making use of protectionist laws, creative types figure out social norms for punishing those who just 'copy.' Yes, some of the copying still occurs, but it can seriously hurt someone's reputation. At the same time, for those who do copy, it pushes them to actually do much more with a joke to actually stand out."