Is it illegal to steal a joke?
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Sometimes. In the US, a joke's exact wording can be protected by copyright once it is written down or recorded, but the idea or premise behind it cannot. Lawsuits are rare: writer Alex Kaseberg sued Conan O'Brien in 2015, a federal judge let some of the jokes head toward trial, and the case settled in 2019. Most joke theft is policed by comedians themselves, through reputations, bookings and bans.
How is the similarity score calculated?
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It is an editorial rating out of 100: up to 40 points for the same premise, 30 for the same structure and order of beats, and 30 for the same punchline or wording. A high score means the two versions are close. It is not a ruling on whether anyone copied anyone.
What's the difference between stolen, highly inspired and parallel thinking?
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Stolen: Admitted, or the record is overwhelming.Highly inspired: Close enough to argue about, and people did.Parallel thinking: Same idea, most likely reached independently.
Who has been accused of stealing jokes the most?
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In this file: Saturday Night Live (7 cases), Amy Schumer (4 cases), Conan O'Brien (4 cases), Carlos Mencia (3 cases), Dane Cook (3 cases), Denis Leary (3 cases), Gad Elmaleh (2 cases), James Corden (2 cases), Trevor Noah (2 cases).
How can I check my own joke hasn't been done?
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DejaBit's notebook runs a web search for your bit's premise and punchline and compares it against everything else in your notebook, then shows the closest matches with sources.
Every case links to public reporting. These are accusations and the record around them, not rulings. Bit descriptions are paraphrases, never transcripts.
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