O’Brien Roasts Plaintiff in Copyright Dispute Alleging Jokes Too Stale to be Stolen

Image from 123RF LimitedThe drama is building in the comic clash between TBS late-night talk show host Conan O’Brien and comedy writer Alex Kaseberg over jokes Kaseberg claims O’Brien and his writing team stole from him.  As previously reported, O’Brien was able to knock out two of the five jokes in question on summary judgment on the grounds that they were independently created and/or too different for a reasonable juror to conclude they were copied, but three of Kaseberg’s jokes remain standing.  A jury trial is scheduled to being this May. In the trial brief O’Brien filed last month, O’Brien raises a funny bone of contention: are Kaseberg’s jokes even original enough to warrant copyright protection at all?  The brief asserts that “Kaseberg’s jokes are negligible and trivial variations on unprotectable ideas, preexisting works, or public domain works, such that they do not contain the requisite amount of…

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