What is a joke?

• A. A joke is always a parody.
• B. A joke is based on a copyrighted work but isn't in itself a parody.
• C. A joke cannot be copyrighted.
• D. A joke is never derived from copyrighted material.

Answer: (B)

Distinguishing parody from other humor and how copyright treats jokes is the idea being tested. A joke can be built from material that’s under copyright without itself being a parody. Parody is a specific kind of transformative use that critiques or comments on the original work, and while it’s protected under fair use in many cases, not every joke that references or borrows from a copyrighted work is a parody. So a joke can be based on a copyrighted work and still not be a parody, which is the nuance this option captures.

The other statements are too absolute. Jokes aren’t always parodies, so claiming every joke is a parody isn’t correct. Jokes can be or include copyrightable expression, so saying a joke cannot be copyrighted isn’t accurate. And jokes can certainly be derived from copyrighted material, so saying they are never derived is false.