In a dispute that is at least as old as comedy itself, late-night talk show host Conan O'Brien has been accused of pinching jokes from a wannabe comic on Twitter.
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Robert Kaseberg from San Diego has filed suit in the district court alleging wisecracks he posted to Twitter turned up shortly afterwards in O'Brien's signature monologues.
And Kaseberg is evidently not at all amused by the apparent copying, demanding at least $US750,000 ($A1,024,870) in compensation for alleged "theft".
In one of the jokes at issue Kaseberg wrote: "A Delta flight this week took off from Cleveland to New York with just two passengers. And they fought over control of the armrest the entire flight."
Shortly after, O'Brien cracked wise on his show with the following: "On Monday, a Delta flight from Cleveland to New York took off with just two passengers. Yet somehow they spent the whole flight fighting over the armrest."
A few weeks later, Kaseberg tweeted: "The Washington Monument is ten inches shorter than previously thought. You know the winter has been cold when a monument suffers from shrinkage."
The gag turned up in a slightly modified form on O'Brien's show shortly afterwards, alleges Kaseberg.
O'Brien's production company has met the claims with a straight bat and a straight face, reportedly saying only that the suit had "no merit".
