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95 Va. L. Rev. Brief 1 (2009-2010)

handle is hein.journals/inbrf95 and id is 1 raw text is: VIRGINIA LAW REVIEW IN BRIEF VOLUME 95 APRIL 20,2009 PAGES 1-7 RESPONSE WHO'S IN THE CLUB?: A RESPONSE TO OLIAR AND SPRIGMAN Katherine J. Strandburg* D OTAN Oliar and Christopher Sprigman contribute to a growing body of case study literature focused on arenas in which social norms supplement or replace formal legal mechanisms as methods of allocating rights to intellectual creations.' They document in fascinating detail the ways in which comedians enforce a norm of exclusive rights in jokes, using a variety of informal mechanisms to penalize joke thieves. They also show that this present-day norm is a relatively new development, having replaced an earlier regime in which comedians shared jokes on the vaudeville circuit. The emphasis on thick description of the varied means by which creativity is governed in the world is a welcome development. Michael Madison, Brett Frischmann, and I have recently proposed a framework for systematizing such studies in the arena of constructed cultural commons for creating and sharing intellectual goods. Social norms are often constitutive of such commons, exemplified by research-tool- Professor of Law, DePaul University College of Law. a Dotan Oliar & Christopher Sprigman, There's No Free Laugh (Anymore): The Emergence of Intellectual Property Norms and the Transformation of Stand-Up Comedy, 94 Va. L. Rev. 1787 (2008). 2 Michael J. Madison, Brett M. Frischmann & Katherine J. Strandburg. Constructing Commons in the Cultural Environment, University of Pittsburgh Legal Studies Research Paper No. 2008-26, available at http://ssrn.com/abstract 1265793.

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