To what extent is "I was just joking" a defence to a defamation claim? Laura Little has written "Just a Joke: Defamatory Humor and Incongruity’s Promise" (available at SSRN), which explores the ways in which courts have addressed "humour" in US and Australian defamation law. The topic can be of particular interest for entertainment lawyers who are called on to review and assess potential liability for jokes contained in screenplays, written materials (such as books or columns) and audio-visual projects.
I Was Kidding! Humour and Defamation
About Bob Tarantino
Bob Tarantino is Counsel at Dentons Canada LLP and focuses his practice on the interface between the entertainment industries and intellectual property law, with an emphasis on film and television production, financing, licensing, distribution, and IP acquisition and protection. His clients range from artists and independent producers to Canadian distributors and foreign studios and financiers at every stage of the creative process, from development to delivery and exploitation.
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