IPDuck: 2025

Thursday, September 11, 2025

My latest amicus brief: Cox v. Sony

Last Friday, EFF filed the latest amicus brief I helped write, in the U.S. Supreme Court case of Cox v. Sony. The case deals with the standards for contributory copyright infringement. EFF's blog post about the brief is here.

Why a Duck?

The "IP" part of this blog's title is self-explanatory -- the abbreviation for the shorthand term "intellectual property." But what to call the humor part of the name? It turns out that the duck is the funniest animal alive. A 2002 study confirms that jokes mentioning ducks are funnier than others.

If you think about it, that makes sense. Think of the funniest joke you know, and replace one of the characters with a duck. It instantly becomes even funnier. You might not even need the punchline. For example, which is funnier:
"A priest, a rabbi, and a minister walk into a bar . . . "
-- OR --
"A priest, a rabbi, and a duck walk into a bar . . . "

And needless to say, "Weird Al" Yankovic's "I Want a New Duck" is MUCH funnier than Huey Lewis' "I Want a New Drug."