In addition to these doctrinal barriers, there are practical barriers
that prevent copyright law from being easily applied to the comedy
industry. The primary practical barrier is the high cost of attaining
intellectual property protection and excluding others from that right.
The cost of registering a joke online with the U.S. Copyright Office is
usually thirty-five dollars. 89 Considering the number of jokes a
comedian creates over a lifetime and the industry being severely
under-monetized, even these costs are likely prohibitive. 90
Additionally, there is a high cost of retaining an attorney, a low
chance of successfully bringing a claim, and most comedians do not
have the financial assets to make pursuing damages worthwhile.