Jay Leno and Fellow Comedians Represented by Gibson Dunn Put a Stop to
Unauthorized Copying of Their Jokes in 'Joke Books'
LOS ANGELES, Jan. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- Jay Leno, several fellow comedians,
and NBC Studios have settled their lawsuit in federal court against Judy Brown
and Brown's publishers, putting an end to "joke books" created by Brown that
collect and repackage thousands of the comedians' jokes without their
permission. Leno, who along with Rita Rudner and NBC Studios, is donating all
of his proceeds to charity, expressed satisfaction with the settlement.
Under the settlement, Brown's publishers pledged to immediately cease the
distribution, manufacture and sale of Brown's joke books, and to pay
compensation to the plaintiff comedians. Brown also agreed to a monetary
settlement, apologized for her actions, and pledged to never again copy any of
the plaintiffs' jokes without express permission to do so.
The suit, also brought by Rita Rudner, Jimmy Brogan, Diane Nichols, Sue
Pascoe (widow of comedian Ronnie Shakes), Kathleen Madigan, and Bob Ettinger,
alleged that Brown and the publisher defendants had violated federal copyright
and trademark statutes by engaging in wholesale and unauthorized reproduction
of the plaintiffs' original material in Brown's joke book compilations.
According to Leno, "I thought it was important to make it clear that jokes
are protected like any other art form. On behalf of the tremendous and
talented group of writers we have at The Tonight Show and many other
hardworking comedians, I'm very glad we've been able to stop this practice
once and for all."
"This settlement sends a strong message that the intellectual property
rights of comedy writers must be respected," said Theodore J. Boutrous, Jr.,
of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, who represented NBC Studios and the comedians
in the suit. Boutrous added that Gibson Dunn would be donating a portion of
its proceeds from the settlement to charity.
Judy Brown apologized to the writers whose jokes she copied: "In my
books, I have published jokes of Jay Leno and the other comedians in this
lawsuit without their permission. I sincerely apologize for doing so. I
greatly admire the creativity, wit and energy of stand-up comedians, and I
recognize that comedy is as much an art form as other types of creative
expression. The best comedians may make comedy seem easy, but I know it takes
talent, hard work and careful preparation to make people laugh. That is why I
am settling this lawsuit by agreeing never again to publish their jokes
without asking their permission to do so."
SOURCE Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP
Liz Valsamis, Communications Coordinator of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher,
+1-213-229-7115; or Rebecca Marks, EVP, +1-818-840-3914, or Nate Kirtman, VP,
+1-818-840-3870, both of Press & Publicity, NBCU
