# MTV big urban myth show **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 30, 2003, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mtv-big-urban-myth-show/178449 "2003-05-30T03:47:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![gyt\_fx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/74df32/32.png) [@gyt\_fx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gyt_fx)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2003, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mtv-big-urban-myth-show/178449/1 "2003-05-30T03:47:10Z")
On MTV’s “Big Urban Myth show,” with the movie awards edition that aired 830 on thursday, at the end of answering one of the myths about PCP being on the titanic set and stuff, they say “we got hte straightdope on this myth” “true” is that violation to copyright laws or them just being f\*\*\*heads?😕 ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2003, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mtv-big-urban-myth-show/178449/2 "2003-05-30T03:52:50Z")
And what copyright are they violating? ---
**Author:** ![gyt\_fx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/74df32/32.png) [@gyt\_fx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gyt_fx)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2003, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mtv-big-urban-myth-show/178449/3 "2003-05-30T03:56:39Z")
saying they got the straightdope… ---
**Author:** ![Saltire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saltire/32/553_2.png) [@Saltire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saltire)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2003, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mtv-big-urban-myth-show/178449/4 "2003-05-30T04:02:01Z")
The phrase “The Straight Dope” was in common use long before Cecil started writing his column. I’m also not sure, even if it were original, that you could copyright 3 words. Now, it is a trademark. But that is only infringed if someone tries to trade (make money) under that name. ---
**Author:** ![SmackFu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@SmackFu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmackFu)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2003, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mtv-big-urban-myth-show/178449/5 "2003-05-30T04:04:19Z")
> [@](#): > > And, since you were just about to ask, the use of “dope” to mean “inside information” (as in “the straight dope”) probably comes from the “dope,” or stimulant drugs, once given to racehorses to improve their performance. Knowing that a certain horse had been “doped” would, of course, be invaluable information for any bettor, and “dope” eventually came to mean the information itself. ([source](http://www.word-detective.com/081100.html)) ---
**Author:** ![Ringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2003, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mtv-big-urban-myth-show/178449/6 "2003-05-30T04:04:51Z")
The phrase “straight dope” was around a long time before the column. Can I use the word “time” in a sentence without violating a copyright? Sure. I might run into a little bit of trouble trying to use it as a trademark. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2003, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mtv-big-urban-myth-show/178449/7 "2003-05-30T04:06:16Z")
I think the term ‘Straight Dope’ is in common usage and cannot be copyrighted. You can register the logo using those words as unique but not the words themselves. ---
**Author:** ![gyt\_fx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/74df32/32.png) [@gyt\_fx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gyt_fx)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2003, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mtv-big-urban-myth-show/178449/8 "2003-05-30T04:08:16Z")
i c, thx saltire i dunno smackfus talkin about… us washingtonians are a cut aboce the rest :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2003, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mtv-big-urban-myth-show/178449/9 "2003-05-30T04:44:29Z")
And what copyright are they violating? ---
**Author:** ![gyt\_fx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/74df32/32.png) [@gyt\_fx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gyt_fx)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2003, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mtv-big-urban-myth-show/178449/10 "2003-05-30T04:45:45Z")
ok… fear itself… keep askin ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2003, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mtv-big-urban-myth-show/178449/11 "2003-05-30T05:30:05Z")
Wow, 52 minutes, is that the record for double-post? I swear, I only hit submit once! ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2003, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mtv-big-urban-myth-show/178449/12 "2003-05-30T06:33:24Z")
I doubt anybody at MTV knows about The Straight Dope. It’s a common phrase, and has been so for decades. ---
**Author:** ![nineiron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e56c9b/32.png) [@nineiron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nineiron)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2003, 10:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mtv-big-urban-myth-show/178449/13 "2003-05-30T10:06:44Z")
Yeah, but I’ve found that it’s not as common as I’d thought. On more than one occasion at work, I’ve been on the Straight Dope main page (you know, where the big blue logo is), and I’ve had students giggle, thinking I was looking up, well, stuff about dope. When I asked them, “Haven’t you heard the phrase, ‘Give me the straight dope’?” they said no. ---
**Author:** ![daniel801](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@daniel801](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/daniel801)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2003, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mtv-big-urban-myth-show/178449/14 "2003-05-30T13:59:44Z")
**Ringo** –\> “Time” the magazine may differ with you. ---
**Author:** ![Random](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/57b2e6/32.png) [@Random](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Random)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2003, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mtv-big-urban-myth-show/178449/15 "2003-05-30T14:18:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by daniel801 \* > \*\ ***Ringo** –\> “Time” the magazine may differ with you. \*\* Unlikely, because **Ringo** is correct. Maybe you misread what he was saying? ---
**Author:** ![dantheman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dantheman/32/9421_2.png) [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2003, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mtv-big-urban-myth-show/178449/16 "2003-05-30T14:19:40Z")
Ringo’s point was that he could use the word “time” in a sentence with no problems, but if he tried to use it as a trademark, “Time” magazine would sue his nuts off.