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Freaky Friday: Meta Humor, Wikijokes and Chuck Norris Facts |
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Dr. Samuel Says -
Weirdness
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Written by Dr. Samuel Centralia, Ph.D., D.D.S., Esq.
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Friday, 18 January 2008 |
By now, everyone knows about the Chuck Norris Facts website and attendant phenomena. This is a perfect example of an idea that, in 1983, would have been a xeroxed 'zine making the rounds in Austin, Texas, or somewhere -- but in the 21st century is a worldwide pop cultural touchstone. Neat the way that happens.
But did you know that Chuck Norris can't take a joke? Or at least his
lawyers can't, according to this report, anyway. Norris has sued
publisher Penguin over a new book compiling 400 of the best and
funniest Chuck Norris Facts generated on various websites. The suit,
filed in Manhattan federal court, seeks unspecified monetary damages
for trademark infringement, unjust enrichment and privacy rights.
 It begs the question -- who owns the rights to this particular variety
of Chuck Norris jokes? Many speculate that the trend started with a
recurring bit on Conan O'Brien's late night show. But in recent years,
certainly, the Chuck Norris thing has gone totally wiki. The websites
collect bits from thousands of contributors, anonymously, with everyone
just riffing on the basic premise.
You could make a case here that no one really owns the running global
in-joke now referred to as Chuck Norris Facts. Of course, you could
also make the case that the whole enchilada depends on Norris' public
image and fame, so he should get a cut (at least) of any enterprise
making money off his name. And in fact, Chuck has already leveraged the
trend, doing soda commercials and famously hooking up with presidential
candidate Mike Huckabee for a promotional video. In any event, you can
rest assured that lawyers will be debating issues like these in
the coming years, at $500/hour.
In a related item, Chuck Norris is also currently suing NBC, claiming
Law and Order are trademarked names for his left and right legs. it's a Fact!
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