PhotoA federal judge has ruled that the late-night host Conan O’Brien must head to court to face allegations of joke theft, a rarity in comedy, where accusations often fly but rarely advance past that. Judge Janis Sammartino on Friday dismissed the claims for two of the jokes, but said Mr. O’Brien must face the allegations for the other three. Among the examples Mr. Kaseberg cited: On Dec. 2, 2014, Mr. Kaseberg wrote, “The University of Alabama-Birmingham is shutting down its football program. To which the Oakland Raiders said, ‘Wait, so you can do that?’” The next day on “Conan,” Mr. O’Brien said during his monologue: “Big news in sports. Representatives for Mr. O’Brien did not respond to a request for comment.

Source: New York Times May 15, 2017 19:16 UTC