Conan O'Brien Accused of Stealing These 3 Jokes

Conan O'Brien might soon find himself in court over allegations that are nightmarish for any comedian: He's accused of stealing jokes. As USA Today reports, a judge has allowed a federal civil suit to go forward in which Robert "Alex" Kaseberg accuses O'Brien and his writers of stealing jokes he posted online in 2014 and 2015. It's possible, perhaps even likely, the case will be settled before it goes to trial, given how tricky intellectual property cases can be. "Accusing a comedian of stealing a joke is the worst thing you can accuse them of, in my opinion, short of murder," said O'Brien himself in a deposition. Kaseberg makes his case in a blog post here. The judge said three jokes in particular are in question. Here they are, via the Washington Post:

• Kaseberg: "Tom Brady said he wants to give his MVP truck to the man who won the game for the Patriots. So enjoy that truck, Pete Carroll."
• O’Brien: "Tom Brady said he wants to give the truck that he was given as Super Bowl MVP … to the guy who won the Super Bowl for the Patriots. Which is very nice. I think that’s nice. I do. Yes. So Brady’s giving his truck to Seahawks coach Pete Carroll."
• Kaseberg: "Three towns, two in Texas, one in Tennessee, have streets named after Bruce Jenner and now they have to consider changing them to Caitlyn. And one will have to change from a Cul-De-Sac to a Cul-De-Sackless."
• O’Brien: "Some cities that have streets named after Bruce Jenner are trying to change the streets’ names to Caitlyn Jenner. If you live on Bruce Jenner Cul-de-sac it will now be Cul-de-no-sack."
• Kaseberg: "The Washington Monument is ten inches shorter than previously thought. You know the winter has been cold when a monument suffers from shrinkage."
• O’Brien: "Yesterday surveyors announced that the Washington Monument is ten inches shorter than what’s been previously recorded. Yeah. Of course, the monument is blaming the shrinkage on the cold weather."

(More Conan O'Brien stories.)