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Case 3:15-cv-01637-JLS-DHB Document 3 Filed 11/04/15 Page 1 of 8

1 PATRICIA L. GLASER – State Bar No. 55668 [email protected] 2 ERICA J. VAN LOON - State Bar No. 227712 [email protected] 3 JESSICA E. MENDELSON - State Bar No. 280388 [email protected] 4 GLASER WEIL FINK HOWARD AVCHEN & SHAPIRO LLP 5 10250 Constellation Boulevard, 19th Floor , 90067 6 Telephone: (310) 282-6250 Facsimile: (310) 785-3550 7 Attorneys for Defendant , LLC

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9 DISTRICT COURT

10 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

11 ROBERT ALEXANDER KASEBERG, CASE NO. 15-CV-01637-JLS-DHB 12 Plaintiff, Hon. Janis L. Sammartino 13 v. 14

15 CONACO, LLC; TURNER ANSWER TO COMPLAINT BROADCASTING SYSTEM; TIME 16 WARNER, INC.; O'BRIEN; DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL JEFF ROSS; MIKE SWEENEY; DOES 17 1-50, inclusive,

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ANSWER TO COMPLAINT 15cv1637 1079450 Case 3:15-cv-01637-JLS-DHB Document 3 Filed 11/04/15 Page 2 of 8

1 Defendant Conaco, LLC (“Conaco” or “Defendant”), by and through their

2 undersigned counsel, responds to Plaintiff Robert Alexander Kaseberg's (“Kaseberg”)

3 Complaint as follows: 4 JURISDICTION AND VENUE 5 1. Defendant admits that Kaseberg seeks claims for relief against 6 Defendant, but denies that such claims have any merit. Defendant admits to doing

7 business in the State of California. Defendant lacks sufficient knowledge or

8 information to form a belief as to the truth of the remaining allegations in paragraph

9 1, and on that basis denies them. 10 2. Defendant admits this Court has subject matter jurisdiction over the

11 claims alleged in the Complaint, but denies that such claims have any merit.

12 3. Defendant denies that venue is proper in this judicial district under 28

13 U.S.C. §1400(a) and §1391. 14 PARTIES TO THE ACTION 15 4. Defendant lacks sufficient knowledge or information to admit or deny 16 the allegations in this paragraph, and on that basis denies them.

17 5. Defendant Conaco, LLC admits that is a limited liability company

18 organized under the laws of the State of California and is in the television production

19 industry. Defendant Conaco, LLC admits that it is the production company that

20 produces the “Conan” television show.

21 6. Defendant Conaco, LLC admits that Defendant Turner Broadcasting

22 System, Inc. (“TBS, Inc.”) is a business organized under the laws of the State of

23 , and is registered to do business the State of California. Defendant

24 admits that TBS, Inc. owns and operates a television network known as “TBS” and

25 that TBS is the television network that airs the “Conan” television show in the United

26 States. Otherwise, Defendant is without sufficient knowledge or information to form

27 a belief as to the truth of the remaining allegations contained in this paragraph, and on

28 that basis denies them.

1 ANSWER TO COMPLAINT 15cv1637

1079450 Case 3:15-cv-01637-JLS-DHB Document 3 Filed 11/04/15 Page 3 of 8

1 7. Defendant Conaco, LLC admits that Defendant Time Warner, Inc. is a 2 business organized under the laws of the State of Delaware, and is registered to do

3 business within the State of California. Otherwise, Defendant is without sufficient

4 knowledge or information to form a belief as to the truth of the remaining allegations

5 contained in this paragraph, and on that basis denies them. 6 8. Defendant admits that Defendant is an individual living in Los Angeles, 7 California. Defendant admits that Conan O’Brien is the creator, executive producer,

8 writer, and presenter of the “Conan” television show.

9 9. Defendant admits that Defendant Conan O’Brien is an individual living

10 in Los Angeles, California. Defendant admits that Jeff Ross is an executive producer

11 of the “Conan” television show.

12 10. Defendant admits that Mike Sweeney is an individual living in Los

13 Angeles, California, and the head writer at the “Conan” television show.

14 11. Defendant admits that “Conan” is a television show airing each

15 Monday through Thursday on TBS in the United States. Otherwise, Defendant is

16 without sufficient knowledge or information to form a basis as to the truth of the

17 remaining allegations contained in this paragraph, and on that basis denies them.

18 12. Defendant denies the allegations contained in this paragraph to the extent

19 such allegations pertain to it. Otherwise, Defendant is without sufficient knowledge

20 or information to form a belief as to the truth of the remaining allegations contained

21 in this paragraph, and on that basis denies them.

22 13. Defendant denies the allegations contained in this paragraph to the extent

23 such allegations pertain to it. Otherwise, Defendant is without sufficient knowledge

24 or information to form a belief as to the truth of the remaining allegations contained

25 in this paragraph, and on that basis denies them.

26 GENERAL ALLEGATIONS 27 14. Defendant is without sufficient knowledge or information to form a

28 belief as to the truth of the allegations contained in this paragraph, and on that basis

2 ANSWER TO COMPLAINT 15cv1637

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1 denies them. 2 15. Defendant is without sufficient knowledge or information to form a 3 belief as to the truth of the allegations contained in this paragraph, and on that basis

4 denies them.

5 15(sic). Defendant denies the allegations contained in this paragraph. By way

6 of further response, Defendant specifically denies that it made any joke which

7 infringed any alleged rights belonging to Plaintiff.

8 16. Defendant is without sufficient knowledge or information to form a

9 belief as to the truth of the allegations contained in this paragraph, and on that basis

10 denies them.

11 17. Defendant denies the allegations contained in this paragraph. By way of

12 further response, Defendant specifically denies that it made any joke which infringed

13 any alleged rights belonging to Plaintiff.

14 18. Defendant is without sufficient knowledge or information to form a

15 belief as to the truth of the allegations contained in this paragraph, and on that basis

16 denies them.

17 19. Defendant denies the allegations contained in this paragraph. By way of

18 further response, Defendant specifically denies that it made any joke which infringed

19 any alleged rights belonging to Plaintiff.

20 20. Defendant is without sufficient knowledge or information to form a

21 belief as to the truth of the allegations contained in this paragraph, and on that basis

22 denies them.

23 21. Defendant denies the allegations contained in this paragraph. By way of

24 further response, Defendant specifically denies that it made any joke which infringed

25 any alleged rights belonging to Plaintiff.

26 22. Defendant denies the allegations contained in this paragraph to the extent

27 such allegations pertain to it. Otherwise, Defendant is without sufficient knowledge

28 or information to form a belief as to the truth of the remaining allegations contained

3 ANSWER TO COMPLAINT 15cv1637

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1 in this paragraph, and on that basis denies them. 2 23. Defendant is without sufficient knowledge or information to form a 3 belief as to the truth of the allegations contained in this paragraph, and on that basis

4 denies them. 5 24. Defendant is without sufficient knowledge or information to form a 6 belief as to the truth of the allegations contained in this paragraph, and on that basis

7 denies them. 8 FIRST CAUSE OF ACTION FOR COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT 9 25. Defendant denies the allegations contained in this paragraph. 10 26. Defendant denies the allegations contained in this paragraph. 11 27. Defendant denies the allegations contained in this paragraph. 12 28. Defendant denies the allegations contained in this paragraph. 13 29. Defendant denies the allegations contained in this paragraph. 14 30. Defendant denies the allegations contained in this paragraph. 15 31. Defendant denies the allegations contained in this paragraph. 16 KASEBERG’S PRAYER FOR RELIEF 17 Plaintiff's prayer for relief does not contain any allegations. To the extent any

18 response is required to any part of Plaintiff's prayer for relief, including without

19 limitation Paragraphs A through I, including subparts, Defendant denies that Plaintiff

20 is entitled to any relief sought in Plaintiff's prayer for relief.

21 AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSES 22 Further answering the Complaint and as additional defenses thereto, Defendant

23 asserts the following Affirmative Defenses, without assuming the burden of proof

24 when such burden would otherwise be on Kaseberg.

25 FIRST AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE 26 (Failure to State a Claim) 27 Kaseberg’s Complaint fails to state any claims upon which relief can be granted. 28 SECOND AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE

4 ANSWER TO COMPLAINT 15cv1637

1079450 Case 3:15-cv-01637-JLS-DHB Document 3 Filed 11/04/15 Page 6 of 8

1 (Lack of Copyrightable Subject Matter) 2 Plaintiff’s purportedly copyrighted works are not subject to copyright

3 protection because they are not original, they lack copyrightable subject matter,

4 and/or are works in the public domain. 5 THIRD AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE 6 (Copyright Non-Infringement) 7 Defendant has not infringed Plaintiff’s alleged copyrights and Defendant’s

8 work is not substantially similar to Plaintiff’s purported copyright. 9 FOURTH AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE 10 (Independent Creation) 11 Defendant’s allegedly infringing works were independently created. 12 FIFTH AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE 13 (Lack of Originality) 14 Plaintiff’s work is not sufficiently original to entitle it to copyright protection,

15 as it is composed merely of scènes à faire information. 16 SIXTH AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE 17 (Fair Use) 18 Defendant’s conduct constitutes fair use, if any, of Plaintiff’s purported

19 copyrighted work. 20 SEVENTH AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE 21 (No Willfulness) 22 Defendant’s alleged acts of infringement were without willfulness and were

23 done in the good faith belief that such acts were duly authorized and proper.

24 EIGHTH AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE 25 (Improper Venue)

26 Venue is improper because none of the conditions of 28 U.S.C. § 1391 are

27 satisfied.

28 RESERVATION OF ADDITIONAL DEFENSES

5 ANSWER TO COMPLAINT 15cv1637

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1 Discovery in this action has not yet commenced and Defendant continues to

2 investigate the allegations set forth in the Complaint. Defendant specifically gives

3 notice that it intends to rely upon such other defenses as may become available by

4 law, or pursuant to statute, or discovery proceedings in this case, and hereby reserves

5 the right to assert such additional defenses. 6 CONCLUSION AND PRAYER FOR RELIEF

7 WHEREFORE, Defendant prays for judgment that:

8 (a) Defendant has not infringed any of Plaintiff's copyrights, if any;

9 (b) Plaintiff's copyright infringement claim is barred;

10 (c) The Complaint be dismissed in its entirety with prejudice;

11 (d) Plaintiff be required to pay Defendant the costs of suit including, without

12 limitation, reasonable attorneys' fees and costs as may be allowed by law; and

13 (e) Defendant be awarded such other and further relief as the Court deems

14 just and proper.

15 DATED: November 4, 2015 GLASER WEIL FINK HOWARD AVCHEN & SHAPIRO LLP 16

17 By: /s/ Erica J. Van Loon 18 PATRICIA L. GLASER ERICA J. VAN LOON 19 JESSICA E. MENDESON 20 Attorneys for Defendant, Conaco, LLC

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6 ANSWER TO COMPLAINT 15cv1637

1079450 Case 3:15-cv-01637-JLS-DHB Document 3 Filed 11/04/15 Page 8 of 8

1 2 DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL 3 Defendant respectfully request a jury trial on all issues triable by a jury. 4 5 DATED: November 4, 2015 GLASER WEIL FINK HOWARD AVCHEN & SHAPIRO LLP 6 7 By: /s/ Erica J. Van Loon 8 PATRICIA L. GLASER 9 ERICA J. VAN LOON JESSICA E. MENDESON 10 Attorneys for Defendant, Conaco, LLC 11 12

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7 ANSWER TO COMPLAINT 15cv1637

1079450 Case 3:15-cv-01637-JLS-DHB Document 4 Filed 11/04/15 Page 1 of 2

1 PATRICIA L. GLASER – State Bar No. 55668 [email protected] 2 ERICA J. VAN LOON - State Bar No. 227712 [email protected] 3 JESSICA E. MENDELSON - State Bar No. 280388 [email protected] 4 GLASER WEIL FINK HOWARD AVCHEN & SHAPIRO LLP 5 10250 Constellation Boulevard, 19th Floor Los Angeles, California 90067 6 Telephone: (310) 282-6250 Facsimile: (310) 785-3550 7 Attorneys for Defendant Conaco, LLC

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9 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

10 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

11 ROBERT ALEXANDER KASEBERG, CASE NO. 15-CV-01637-JLS-DHB 12 Plaintiff, Hon. Janis L. Sammartino 13 v. 14 NOTICE OF PARTY WITH 15 CONACO, LLC; TURNER FINANCIAL INTEREST BROADCASTING SYSTEM; TIME 16 WARNER, INC.; CONAN O'BRIEN; JEFF ROSS; MIKE SWEENEY; DOES 17 1-50, inclusive,

18 Defendants. 19

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NOTICE OF PARTY WITH FINANCIAL INTEREST 15cv1637 1079450 Case 3:15-cv-01637-JLS-DHB Document 4 Filed 11/04/15 Page 2 of 2

1 Pursuant to Civil Rule 40.2, the undersigned, counsel of record for defendant

2 Conaco, LLC, certifies that the following listed party or parties may have a pecuniary

3 interst in the outcome of this case. These representations are made to enable the court

4 to evaluate a possible disqualification or recusal. 5 1. Conaco, LLC (defendant in this action). 6 7 DATED: November 4, 2015 GLASER WEIL FINK HOWARD AVCHEN & SHAPIRO LLP 8 9 By: /s/ Erica J. Van Loon 10 PATRICIA L. GLASER 11 ERICA J. VAN LOON JESSICA E. MENDESON 12 Attorneys for Defendant, Conaco, LLC

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1 NOTICE OF PARTY WITH FINANCIAL INTEREST 15cv1637

1079450 Case 3:15-cv-01637-JLS-DHB Document 11 Filed 11/23/15 Page 1 of 8

1 PATRICIA L. GLASER – State Bar No. 55668 [email protected] 2 ERICA J. VAN LOON - State Bar No. 227712 [email protected] 3 JESSICA E. MENDELSON - State Bar No. 280388 [email protected] 4 GLASER WEIL FINK HOWARD AVCHEN & SHAPIRO LLP 5 10250 Constellation Boulevard, 19th Floor Los Angeles, California 90067 6 Telephone: (310) 282-6250 Facsimile: (310) 785-3550 7 Attorneys for Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. 8 Time Warner Inc.

9 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 10 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 11

12 ROBERT ALEXANDER KASEBERG, CASE NO. 15-CV-01637-JLS-DHB 13 Plaintiff, Hon. Janis L. Sammartino 14 v. 15

16 CONACO, LLC; TURNER ANSWER TO COMPLAINT BROADCASTING SYSTEM; TIME 17 WARNER, INC.; CONAN O'BRIEN; DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL JEFF ROSS; MIKE SWEENEY; DOES 18 1-50, inclusive,

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ANSWER TO COMPLAINT 15cv1637 1091431 Case 3:15-cv-01637-JLS-DHB Document 11 Filed 11/23/15 Page 2 of 8

1 Defendants Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. and Time Warner Inc.

2 (collectively "Defendants"), by and through their undersigned counsel, respond to

3 Plaintiff Robert Alexander Kaseberg's (“Kaseberg”) Complaint as follows: 4 JURISDICTION AND VENUE 5 1. Defendants admit that Kaseberg seeks claims for relief against 6 Defendants, but deny that such claims have any merit. Defendants admit that TBS,

7 Inc. and Time Warner Inc. are registered to do business in the State of California.

8 Defendants lack sufficient knowledge or information to form a belief as to the truth of

9 the remaining allegations in this paragraph, and on that basis deny them. 10 2. Defendants admit this Court has subject matter jurisdiction over the

11 claims alleged in the Complaint, but deny that such claims have any merit.

12 3. Defendants deny that venue is proper in this judicial district under 28

13 U.S.C. §1400(a) and §1391. 14 PARTIES TO THE ACTION 15 4. Defendants lack sufficient knowledge or information to admit or deny 16 the allegations in this paragraph, and on that basis deny them.

17 5. Defendants admit that Conaco, LLC is the production company that

18 produces the “Conan” television show. Defendants lack sufficient knowledge or

19 information to admit or deny the remaining allegations in this paragraph, and on that

20 basis deny them.

21 6. Defendants admit that TBS, Inc. is a business organized under the laws

22 of the State of Georgia, and is registered to do business within the State of California.

23 Defendants admit that TBS, Inc. owns and operates a television network known as

24 “TBS” and that TBS is the television network that airs the “Conan” television show in

25 the United States. Defendants lack sufficient knowledge or information to admit or

26 deny the remaining allegations in this paragraph, and on that basis deny them.

27 7. Defendants admit that Time Warner Inc. is a business organized under

28 the laws of the State of Delaware, and is registered to do business within the State of

1 ANSWER TO COMPLAINT 15cv1637

1091431 Case 3:15-cv-01637-JLS-DHB Document 11 Filed 11/23/15 Page 3 of 8

1 California. Defendants admit that Time Warner Inc. is the parent company of Turner

2 Broadcasting System, Inc., the company that owns and operates the television

3 network known as “TBS” and that TBS is the television network that airs the “Conan”

4 television show. Defendants lack sufficient knowledge or information to admit or

5 deny the remaining allegations in this paragraph, and on that basis deny them. 6 8. Defendants admit that Conan O’Brien is an individual living in Los 7 Angeles, California. Defendants lack sufficient knowledge or information to admit or

8 deny the remaining allegations in this paragraph, and on that basis deny them.

9 9. Defendants lack sufficient knowledge or information to admit or deny

10 the allegations in this paragraph, and on that basis deny them.

11 10. Defendants lack sufficient knowledge or information to admit or deny

12 the allegations in this paragraph, and on that basis deny them.

13 11. Defendants admit that “Conan” is a late night television show airing on

14 TBS in the United States. Defendants admit that Conan airs and appears on TBS

15 which is distributed throughout the United States. Defendants lack sufficient

16 knowledge or information to admit or deny the remaining allegations in this

17 paragraph, and on that basis deny them.

18 12. Defendants deny the allegations contained in this paragraph to the extent

19 such allegations pertain to it. Otherwise, Defendants are without sufficient

20 knowledge or information to form a belief as to the truth of the remaining allegations

21 contained in this paragraph, and on that basis deny them.

22 13. Defendants deny the allegations contained in this paragraph to the extent

23 such allegations pertain to it. Otherwise, Defendants are without sufficient

24 knowledge or information to form a belief as to the truth of the remaining allegations

25 contained in this paragraph, and on that basis deny them.

26 GENERAL ALLEGATIONS 27 14. Defendants are without sufficient knowledge or information to form a

28 belief as to the truth of the allegations contained in this paragraph, and on that basis

2 ANSWER TO COMPLAINT 15cv1637

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1 deny them. 2 15. Defendants are without sufficient knowledge or information to form a 3 belief as to the truth of the allegations contained in this paragraph, and on that basis

4 deny them.

5 15(sic). Defendants deny the allegations contained in this paragraph. 6 16. Defendants are without sufficient knowledge or information to form a 7 belief as to the truth of the allegations contained in this paragraph, and on that basis

8 deny them.

9 17. Defendants deny the allegations contained in this paragraph. 10 18. Defendants are without sufficient knowledge or information to form a

11 belief as to the truth of the allegations contained in this paragraph, and on that basis

12 deny them.

13 19. Defendants deny the allegations contained in this paragraph. 14 20. Defendants are without sufficient knowledge or information to form a

15 belief as to the truth of the allegations contained in this paragraph, and on that basis

16 deny them.

17 21. Defendants deny the allegations contained in this paragraph. 18 22. Defendants deny the allegations contained in this paragraph to the extent

19 such allegations pertain to it. Otherwise, Defendants are without sufficient

20 knowledge or information to form a belief as to the truth of the remaining allegations

21 contained in this paragraph, and on that basis deny them.

22 23. Defendants are without sufficient knowledge or information to form a

23 belief as to the truth of the allegations contained in this paragraph, and on that basis

24 deny them.

25 24. Defendants are without sufficient knowledge or information to form a

26 belief as to the truth of the allegations contained in this paragraph, and on that basis

27 deny them.

28 FIRST CAUSE OF ACTION FOR COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT

3 ANSWER TO COMPLAINT 15cv1637

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1 25. Defendants deny the allegations contained in this paragraph. 2 26. Defendants deny the allegations contained in this paragraph. 3 27. Defendants deny the allegations contained in this paragraph. 4 28. Defendants deny the allegations contained in this paragraph. 5 29. Defendants deny the allegations contained in this paragraph. 6 30. Defendants deny the allegations contained in this paragraph. 7 31. Defendants deny the allegations contained in this paragraph. 8 KASEBERG’S PRAYER FOR RELIEF 9 Plaintiff's prayer for relief does not contain any allegations. To the extent any

10 response is required to any part of Plaintiff's prayer for relief, including without

11 limitation Paragraphs A through I, including subparts, Defendants deny that Plaintiff

12 is entitled to any relief sought in Plaintiff's prayer for relief. 13 AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSES 14 Further answering the Complaint and as additional defenses thereto,

15 Defendants assert the following Affirmative Defenses, without assuming the burden

16 of proof when such burden would otherwise be on Kaseberg. 17 FIRST AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE 18 (Failure to State a Claim) 19 Kaseberg’s Complaint fails to state any claims upon which relief can be granted. 20 SECOND AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE 21 (Lack of Copyrightable Subject Matter) 22 Plaintiff’s purportedly copyrighted works are not subject to copyright

23 protection because they are not original, they lack copyrightable subject matter,

24 and/or are works in the public domain.

25 THIRD AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE 26 (Copyright Non-Infringement)

27 Defendants have not infringed Plaintiff’s alleged copyrights and Defendants’

28 works are not substantially similar to Plaintiff’s purported copyright.

4 ANSWER TO COMPLAINT 15cv1637

1091431 Case 3:15-cv-01637-JLS-DHB Document 11 Filed 11/23/15 Page 6 of 8

1 FOURTH AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE 2 (Independent Creation) 3 Defendants’ allegedly infringing works were independently created. 4 FIFTH AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE 5 (Lack of Originality) 6 Plaintiff’s work is not sufficiently original to entitle it to copyright protection,

7 as it is composed merely of scènes à faire information. 8 SIXTH AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE 9 (Fair Use) 10 Defendants' conduct constitutes fair use, if any, of Plaintiff’s purported

11 copyrighted work. 12 SEVENTH AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE 13 (No Willfulness) 14 Defendants’ alleged acts of infringement were without willfulness and were

15 done in the good faith belief that such acts were duly authorized and proper. 16 EIGHTH AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE 17 (Improper Venue) 18 Venue is improper because none of the conditions of 28 U.S.C. § 1391 are

19 satisfied. 20 RESERVATION OF ADDITIONAL DEFENSES 21 Discovery in this action has not yet commenced and Defendants continue to

22 investigate the allegations set forth in the Complaint. Defendants specifically give

23 notice that they intend to rely upon such other defenses as may become available by

24 law, or pursuant to statute, or discovery proceedings in this case, and hereby reserve

25 the right to assert such additional defenses.

26 CONCLUSION AND PRAYER FOR RELIEF

27 WHEREFORE, Defendants pray for judgment that:

28 (a) Defendants have not infringed any of Plaintiff's copyrights, if any;

5 ANSWER TO COMPLAINT 15cv1637

1091431 Case 3:15-cv-01637-JLS-DHB Document 11 Filed 11/23/15 Page 7 of 8

1 (b) Plaintiff's copyright infringement claim is barred;

2 (c) The Complaint be dismissed in its entirety with prejudice;

3 (d) Plaintiff be required to pay Defendants the costs of suit including,

4 without limitation, reasonable attorneys' fees and costs as may be allowed by law; and

5 (e) Defendants be awarded such other and further relief as the Court deems

6 just and proper.

7 DATED: November 23, 2015 GLASER WEIL FINK HOWARD AVCHEN & SHAPIRO LLP 8

9 By: /s/ Erica J. Van Loon 10 PATRICIA L. GLASER ERICA J. VAN LOON 11 JESSICA E. MENDELSON 12 Attorneys for Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. 13 Time Warner Inc.

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6 ANSWER TO COMPLAINT 15cv1637

1091431 Case 3:15-cv-01637-JLS-DHB Document 11 Filed 11/23/15 Page 8 of 8

1 DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL 2 Defendants respectfully request a jury trial on all issues triable by a jury.

3 4 DATED: November 23, 2015 GLASER WEIL FINK HOWARD AVCHEN & SHAPIRO LLP 5 6 By: /s/ Erica J. Van Loon 7 PATRICIA L. GLASER 8 ERICA J. VAN LOON JESSICA E. MENDELSON 9 Attorneys for Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. 10 Time Warner Inc.

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7 ANSWER TO COMPLAINT 15cv1637

1091431 Case 3:15-cv-01637-JLS-DHB Document 12 Filed 11/23/15 Page 1 of 2

1 PATRICIA L. GLASER – State Bar No. 55668 [email protected] 2 ERICA J. VAN LOON - State Bar No. 227712 [email protected] 3 JESSICA E. MENDELSON - State Bar No. 280388 [email protected] 4 GLASER WEIL FINK HOWARD AVCHEN & SHAPIRO LLP 5 10250 Constellation Boulevard, 19th Floor Los Angeles, California 90067 6 Telephone: (310) 282-6250 Facsimile: (310) 785-3550 7 Attorneys for Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. 8 Time Warner Inc. 9

10 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 11 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 12

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14 ROBERT ALEXANDER KASEBERG, CASE NO. 15-CV-01637-JLS-DHB

15 Plaintiff, Hon. Janis L. Sammartino

16 v. NOTICE OF PARTIES WITH 17 CONACO, LLC; TURNER FINANCIAL INTEREST BROADCASTING SYSTEM; TIME 18 WARNER, INC.; CONAN O'BRIEN; JEFF ROSS; MIKE SWEENEY; DOES 19 1-50, inclusive, 20

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NOTICE OF PARTIES WITH FINANCIAL INTEREST 15cv1637 1091479 Case 3:15-cv-01637-JLS-DHB Document 12 Filed 11/23/15 Page 2 of 2

1 Pursuant to Civil Rule 40.2, the undersigned, counsel of record for Turner

2 Broadcasting System, Inc. and Time Warner Inc., certifies that the following listed

3 party or parties may have a pecuniary interest in the outcome of this case. These

4 representations are made to enable the court to evaluate a possible disqualification or

5 recusal.

6 1. Time Warner Inc., a defendant in this action and a publicly held

7 corporation.

8 2. Historic TW, Inc., the parent company of Turner Broadcasting System,

9 Inc., is ultimately a wholly-owned subsidiary of Time Warner Inc.

10 3. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., the company that owns and operates

11 the television network known as “TBS”, the defendant in this action that airs the

12 “Conan” television show in the United States.

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14 DATED: November 23, 2015 GLASER WEIL FINK HOWARD AVCHEN & SHAPIRO LLP 15

16 By: /s/ Erica J. Van Loon 17 PATRICIA L. GLASER 18 ERICA J. VAN LOON JESSICA E. MENDELSON 19 Attorneys for Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. 20 Time Warner Inc.

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28 1 NOTICE OF PARTIES WITH FINANCIAL INTEREST 15cv1637

1091479 Case 3:15-cv-01637-JLS-DHB Document 10 Filed 11/20/15 Page 1 of 5

Jayson M. Lorenzo, Esq. SBN 216973 1 [email protected] Attorney at Law 2 2794 Gateway Road, Suite 116 Carlsbad, CA 92009 3 Tel. (760) 517-6646 Fax (760) 520-7900 4 Attorney for Plaintiff 5 ROBERT ALEXANDER KASEBERG

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7 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 8 FOR THE CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 9

10 ROBERT ALEXANDER KASEBERG, ) Case No. 3:15-cv-01637-JLS-DHB ) 11 ) ) 12 ) PLAINTIFF’S AMENDED MOTION Plaintiff, ) FOR AN EXTENSION OF TIME TO 13 ) EFFECT SERVICE OF PROCESS vs. ) PURSUANT TO FED. R. CIV. P. 4(m) 14 ) AND LOCAL RULE 4.1(a); ) DECLARATION OF JAYSON M. 15 ) LORENZO ) 16 CONACO, LLC; TURNER ) BROADCASTING SYSTEM; TIME ) 17 WARNER, INC.; CONAN O’BRIEN; ) ) 18 JEFF ROSS; MIKE SWEENEY; DOES 1 ) – 10, inclusive, ) NO ORAL ARGUMENT UNLESS 19 ) REQUESTED BY THE COURT ) 20 Defendants. ) ) 21

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23 Plaintiff Robert Alexander Kaseberg, by and through his counsel, respectfully 24 requests the Court to grant this request for an extension of time to effect service of the 25 Complaint and Summons pursuant to Local Rule 4.1(a) and Fed. R. Civ. P. 6(b). 26 I. INTRODUCTION 27 Plaintiff filed this copyright infringement action on July 22, 2015. Pursuant to 28 Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(m), Plaintiff needed to effected service of process on November 19,

1 PLAINTIFF’S AMENDED MOTION FOR AN EXTENSION OF TIME TO EFFECT SERVICE OF PROCESS PURSUANT TO FED. R. CIV. P. 4(m) AND LOCAL RULE 4.1(a); DECLARATION OF JAYSON M. LORENZO Case 3:15-cv-01637-JLS-DHB Document 10 Filed 11/20/15 Page 2 of 5

1 2015, which 120 days after the Complaint was filed. Plaintiff has properly effected 2 service of process on Defendants Conaco, LLC, Turner Broadcasting System, and Time 3 Warner, Inc. However, Plaintiff has been unsuccessful at serving Defendants Conan 4 O’Brien, Jeff Ross and Mike Sweeney, after numerous attempts. 5 Plaintiff hereby requests the Court to grant Plaintiff a 30-day extension in order to 6 effect service of process on Mr. O'Brien, Mr. Ross and Mr. Sweeney. 7 II. RELEVANT FACTS 8 Plaintiff filed the instant action on July 22, 2015. Because of the high-profile 9 defendants, numerous news outlets immediately picked up the story, prompting 10 nationwide coverage. Exhibit A. , Conan O’Brien’s ‘’ on the 11 “Conan” show, commented on the lawsuit shortly after it was filed. Exhibit B. Further, 12 Defendant Conan O’Brien also commented on the suit. Exhibit C. 13 Prior to the lawsuit being filed, Plaintiff's counsel had numerous communications 14 via email with the attorney who was also agent for service of process for Conaco, LLC, 15 Leigh Brecheen and firm. Declaration of Jayson M. Lorenzo (“Lorenzo Dec.”) at 4, 16 5, Exhibit D. On July 23, 2015, after the complaint was filed, a request was made via 17 email to Ms. Brecheen and her firm as to who she would accept service on behalf of 18 since Mr. O'Brien, Mr. Ross and Mr. Sweeney all worked for Conaco, LLC. Lorenzo 19 Dec. at 6. No response was received. On August 14, 2015, a follow-up email was sent 20 to Mr. Brecheen and her firm wherein Plaintiff's counsel wrote, "As a professional 21 courtesy, my desire is to avoid having to serve Mr. Ross, Mr. Sweeney and Mr. O'Brien 22 personally, and avoid the possibility of disrupting their workplace, home or have service 23 effected in some other public place. Will agree to accept service on their behalf?" 24 Lorenzo Dec. at 7. Again, no response was received. 25 Plaintiff properly effected service of process on Defendant Conaco, LLC on 26 October 16, 2015. [Docket No. 6]. Defendant Conaco, LLC answered on November 4, 27 2015. [Docket No. 3]. Plaintiff's counsel learned that Conaco, LLC was being 28 represented by Glaser Weil Fink Howard Avchen & Shapiro LLP, a firm different than

2 PLAINTIFF’S AMENDED MOTION FOR AN EXTENSION OF TIME TO EFFECT SERVICE OF PROCESS PURSUANT TO FED. R. CIV. P. 4(m) AND LOCAL RULE 4.1(a); DECLARATION OF JAYSON M. LORENZO Case 3:15-cv-01637-JLS-DHB Document 10 Filed 11/20/15 Page 3 of 5

1 the agent of service of process. Lorenzo Dec. at 8. On November 5, 2015, Plaintiff's

2 counsel emailed counsel for Conaco, LLC stating, " Is your firm going to be 3 representing, Mr. O'Brien, Mr. Sweeney and Mr. Ross as I believe they work Conaco, 4 LLC. The reason I ask is that I would prefer to serve them through counsel and avoid 5 the potential inconvenience of having them served in a public place as I believe it would 6 be the more professional way to handle the matter." Lorenzo Dec. at 9. No response 7 was received. 8 Plaintiff effected service of process on Defendants Turner Broadcasting System 9 and Time Warner, Inc. on November 2, 2015. [Docket Nos. 7, 8]. 10 Plaintiff attempted serving Mr. O'Brien, Mr. Ross and Mr. Sweeney at Warner 11 Bros. Studios, where the “Conan” show is taped, on or about November 10, 2015. 12 Lorenzo Dec. at 10. Plaintiff was advised that service could not be completed because 13 the server could not enter the gated Warner Bros. Studios property. Lorenzo Dec. at 10. 14 Sub-service could not be completed because the studio was not the business address for 15 Conaco, LLC. Lorenzo Dec. at 10. After the failed attempt at service, Plaintiff hired a 16 private investigator to locate Mr. O'Brien, Mr. Ross and Mr. Sweeney on November 13, 17 2015. Lorenzo Dec. at 11. Plaintiff then attempted service at the address provided for 18 Conaco, LLC on the Secretary of State website on or about November 17, 2015. 19 Lorenzo Dec. at 12. Plaintiff was advised that service could not be completed, as the 20 address provided is for accounting firm that handles Conaco’s accounts. Lorenzo Dec. 21 at 12. Plaintiff then attempted serve Conaco’s agent of process, Leigh Breechen, on or 22 about November 17, 2015. Lorenzo Dec. at 13. Plaintiff was advised that the agent did 23 not accept sub-service for the Defendants. Lorenzo Dec. at 13. 24 On or about November 18, 2015, Plaintiffs instructed the process server to 25 attempt service at the addresses learned through investigative efforts. Lorenzo Dec. at 26 14. Plaintiff is awaiting a response from the process server as to whether service of 27 process was effected on the Defendants. 28 III. ARGUMENT

3 PLAINTIFF’S AMENDED MOTION FOR AN EXTENSION OF TIME TO EFFECT SERVICE OF PROCESS PURSUANT TO FED. R. CIV. P. 4(m) AND LOCAL RULE 4.1(a); DECLARATION OF JAYSON M. LORENZO Case 3:15-cv-01637-JLS-DHB Document 10 Filed 11/20/15 Page 4 of 5

1 Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(m) provides a plaintiff 120 days after the complaint is filed to 2 affect service of process. However, if the plaintiff shows good cause for the failure to 3 serve in the allotted time, “the court must extend the time for service of an appropriate 4 period.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(m); Local Rule 4.1(a). 5 A. Defendants have notice of the instant lawsuit. 6 Due process requires that defendants be afforded notice of proceedings involving 7 their interests and an opportunity to be heard. Mullane v. Central Hanover Bank & 8 Trust Co., 339 U.S. 306, 314 (1950). In order to meet this requirement, the plaintiff 9 must serve the defendant by the method “reasonably likely” to provide such notice. 10 Greene v. Lindsey, 456 U.S. 444, 455 (1982). Plaintiff need not employ “extraordinary 11 efforts” in order to provide notice, such as hiring a private investigator. Mennonite 12 Board of Missions v. Adams, 462 US 791, 798 fn. 4 (1983). 13 Here, Mr. O'Brien, Mr. Ross and Mr. Sweeney are all certain to have notice of the 14 instant lawsuit. There were various media outlets that picked up the story of the filing 15 of the instant lawsuit. Exhibit A. Andy Richter, who is featured on the “Conan” show, 16 commented on the lawsuit. Exhibit B. Further, Defendant Conan O’Brien also 17 commented on the suit. Exhibit C. 18 Thus, Defendants have actual notice of the suit. 19 B. Plaintiff has “good cause” warranting an extension of time for 20 service of process. 21 If the plaintiff shows good cause for the failure to serve in the allotted time, “the 22 court must extend the time for service of an appropriate period.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(m); 23 Local Rule 4.1(a). 24 “’Good cause’ for delay longer than 120 days generally means service had been 25 attempted but not completed, that plaintiff was confused about the requirements of 26 service, or that plaintiff was prevented from serving defendants by factors beyond his 27 control.” Mateo v. M/S KISO, 805 F.Supp. 792, 795 (N.D. Cal. 1992) (citing Wei v. 28 Hawaii, 763 F.2d 370, 372 (9th Cir. 1985).

4 PLAINTIFF’S AMENDED MOTION FOR AN EXTENSION OF TIME TO EFFECT SERVICE OF PROCESS PURSUANT TO FED. R. CIV. P. 4(m) AND LOCAL RULE 4.1(a); DECLARATION OF JAYSON M. LORENZO Case 3:15-cv-01637-JLS-DHB Document 10 Filed 11/20/15 Page 5 of 5

1 Here, Plaintiff made several attempts at serving Mr. O'Brien, Mr. Ross and Mr. 2 Sweeney. Good faith efforts were made to have Conaco, LLC's agent for service of 3 process and their attorney accept service on behalf of Mr. O'Brien, Mr. Ross and Mr. 4 Sweeney, who all work for and with Conaco, LLC. Plaintiff attempted service: (1) at 5 Warner Bros. Studios where the “Conan” show was located; (2) at the street address 6 provided for Conaco, LLC on the California Secretary of State website; and (3) with the 7 agent of process for Conaco. Plaintiff additionally hired a private investigator to locate 8 service addresses for Mr. O'Brien, Mr. Ross and Mr. Sweeney in order to attempt 9 service at these addresses. 10 Thus, Plaintiff has met the standard for good cause warranting an extension for 11 service of process on Defendants Conan O’Brien, Jeff Ross and Mike Sweeney. 12 IV. CONCLUSION 13 WHEREFORE, Plaintiff requests the Court to grant Plaintiff a 30 day extension 14 to effect service of process under Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(m) and Local Rule 4.1(a). 15

16 17 Date: November 20, 2015 _____/s/ Jayson M. Lorenzo______JAYSON M. LORENZO 18 Attorney for Plaintiff 19 ROBERT ALEXANDER KASEBERG 20

21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28

5 PLAINTIFF’S AMENDED MOTION FOR AN EXTENSION OF TIME TO EFFECT SERVICE OF PROCESS PURSUANT TO FED. R. CIV. P. 4(m) AND LOCAL RULE 4.1(a); DECLARATION OF JAYSON M. LORENZO Case 3:15-cv-01637-JLS-DHB Document 10-1 Filed 11/20/15 Page 1 of 17

Exhibit A Lawsuit against Conan O’BrienCase over 3:15-cv-01637-JLS-DHB allegedly stealing jokes - Tech Insider Document 10-1 Filed 11/20/15 Page 2 of 17 8/4/15, 5:33 PM

Conan O’Brien is being accused of stealing another comedian's Twitter jokes

MEGAN WILLETT JUL. 28, 2015, 7:34 PM

AP Photo/Ron Frehm

A San Diego County-based comedy writer has alleged in a new lawsuit that Conan O’Brien (and http://www.techinsider.io/lawsuit-against-conan-obrien-over-allegedly-stealing-twitter-jokes-2015-7 Page 1 of 8 Lawsuit against Conan O’BrienCase over 3:15-cv-01637-JLS-DHB allegedly stealing Twitter jokes - Tech Insider Document 10-1 Filed 11/20/15 Page 3 of 17 8/4/15, 5:33 PM

his writing team) stole his Twitter jokes, first spotted by the Reporter.

Robert "Alex" Kaseberg references four jokes from January and February to as recently June that he believes were stolen from his own personal blog and Twitter account. He is seeking $600,000 in damages.

Here's where it all began.

On February 3, Kaseberg tweeted: “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.”

Alex Kaseberg Follow @AlexKaseberg

Tom Brady is going to give his MVP truck to the guy who won the game for the Patriots. So enjoy that truck, Pete Carroll. 8:49 AM - 3 Feb 2015 1

Then on February 4, O’Brien made a similar joke in his monologue when he said: “Tom Brady says he wants to give the truck he was given — as the Super Bowl MVP they gave him a truck — he wants to give it to the guy who won the Super Bowl for the Patriots. I think that’s very nice, yeah! I think that’s nice, I do! Yeah, so Brady’s giving his truck to Seahawk’s coach Pete Carroll.”

On February 17, 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.” O’Brien said a similar joke that same day: “Yesterday, surveyors announced that the Washington Monument is ten inches shorter than what’s been recorded. Yeah! Of course the monument’s blaming the shrinkage on the cold weather. That’s a penis joke.”

Alex Kaseberg Follow @AlexKaseberg

Washington Monument is ten inches shorter than previously thought. You know the winter has been rough when a monument suffers from shrinkage 7:21 AM - 17 Feb 2015 1

Kaseberg noticed the similarities between his jokes and the "Conan" monologues in February and said in a blog post that he called the show's head writer, Mike Sweeney, on February 18. According to Kaseberg, once he had gotten through to Sweeney, he was emphatically told that the "Conan" writers did not steal his jokes.

"The purpose of my call was not to cause trouble, but to suggest that if I was writing jokes so similar (in fact the exact same) to theirs, I should be contributing jokes to the show," Kaseberg wrote in his blog post. "Mike Sweeney implied I had heard jokes on TV and wrongly assumed they were mine. Like I was some crazy man whose thoughts were being stolen by a TV show." http://www.techinsider.io/lawsuit-against-conan-obrien-over-allegedly-stealing-twitter-jokes-2015-7 Page 2 of 8 Lawsuit against Conan O’BrienCase over 3:15-cv-01637-JLS-DHB allegedly stealing Twitter jokes - Tech Insider Document 10-1 Filed 11/20/15 Page 4 of 17 8/4/15, 5:33 PM

Kaseberg appeared to drop the incident until June 9, when he tweeted, “Three streets named Bruce Jenner might have to change names. And one could go from a Cul-de-Sac to a Cul-de- Sackless.” That same day, O’Brien joked in his monologue segment, “Some cities that have streets named after Bruce Jenner are trying to change the streets’ names to Caitlyn Jenner. Yeah. And if you live on Bruce Jenner Cul-de-Sac, it will now be called “Cul-de-No-Sack.”

Alex Kaseberg Follow @AlexKaseberg

Three streets named Bruce Jenner might have to change names. And one could go from a Cul-de-Sac to a Cul-de- Sackless. 11:31 AM - 9 Jun 2015 1

That seemed to have been the last straw for Kaseberg, who filed the lawsuit a month later in July.

But here's where things get kind of bizarre.

At least one joke Kaseberg accuses O'Brien of stealing seems, according to timestamps, that it did in fact initially come from O'Brien first. In the lawsuit, Kaseberg says Conan lifted his joke about Delta for O'Brien's January 14 monologue in the lawsuit. But if you look at Kaseberg's Twitter feed, he seems to have made the Delta joke on January 16, two days after O'Brien. Tech Insider could not find any evidence Kaseberg made the joke earlier.

Kaseberg's lawyer Jayson Lorenzo emailed an official statement to Tech Insider:

Mr. Kaseberg has been a freelance comedy writer for over 20 years. After his copyrighted material had been wrongfully appropriated by the Conan show twice, he reached out to them in an attempt to discuss the matter and got no response. Shortly thereafter, a third joke he authored was used on the show without Mr. Kaseberg's authorization. He again reached out to discuss the matter and was finally able to speak to a representative of Mr. O'Brien's company. During that conversation, Mr. Kaseberg felt that he was ridiculed, dismissed, and treated with scorn. Subsequently, a fourth joke was illegally appropriated and he was forced to file a lawsuit to protect his interests.

Kaseberg is now filing copyright applications for each one of these four jokes and is demanding a trial by jury in the lawsuit, which also names Conaco LLC, Turner Broadcasting System, Time Warner Inc, "Conan" Executive Producer Jeff Ross, and the show’s head writer Mike Sweeney.

A spokesperson for Conaco, the production company behind “Conan” told Tech Insider: “We at Conaco firmly believe there is no merit to this lawsuit.”

Stealing jokes has long been a hotly contested issue among comedians, but it’s become an even bigger deal with the rise of Twitter which has made this viral content both easier to monetize as well as steal. There are numerous Twitter bot accounts dedicated to taking other people’s jokes as well as regular people who try to pass off stranger’s jokes as their own.

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What happens when two amazing humans like me and @nicolerichie hang out? SOMEBODY GETS DOUSED IN ROSÉ. (Spoiler Alert: it's me). Watch #candidlynicole on @vh1 July 29th, 11pm ET.

A video posted by thefatjewish (@thefatjewish) on Jul 16, 2015 at 9:26am PDT on Jul 16, 2015 at 9:2…

One of the most famous plagiarizing accounts belongs to Joshua Ostrovsky, also known as the Fat Jew, who seems to steal viral content and repost it to his own social media accounts without any attribution, all the while gaining hundreds of thousands of likes and followers. He is also reportedly making $6,000 for a sponsored Instagram post. On the other side of the issue, Chris Scott’s original joke tweet: “Oh hi Becky who refused to kiss me during spin the bottle in 6th grade & now wants to play FarmVille, looks like tables have f---ing turned,” went massively viral and was frequently plagiarized back in 2014.

http://www.techinsider.io/lawsuit-against-conan-obrien-over-allegedly-stealing-twitter-jokes-2015-7 Page 4 of 8 Lawsuit against Conan O’BrienCase over 3:15-cv-01637-JLS-DHB allegedly stealing Twitter jokes - Tech Insider Document 10-1 Filed 11/20/15 Page 6 of 17 8/4/15, 5:33 PM

Most recently, freelance comedy writer Olga Lexell asked Twitter to take down tweets that were plagiarizing her, and Twitter obliged by hiding the offending tweets and calling her a "copyright holder," spotted by Twitter account Plagiarism Is Bad.

not olga lexell Follow @runolgarun

If you're wondering why Twitter complied with my copyright takedown requests. 8:57 AM - 25 Jul 2015 12 62

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Plagiarism Is Bad Follow @PlagiarismBad

BREAKING NEWS: Twitter is hiding tweets reported stolen. And it's referring to the author as a "copyright holder" 5:59 AM - 25 Jul 2015 435 234

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Meanwhile, it seems like TeamCoCo doesn’t think much of the lawsuit. Andy Richter, O’Brien’s constant comedian sidekick, tweeted sarcastically about the incident to fans.

Andy Richter Follow @AndyRichter

OH NO WE'VE BEEN FOUND OUT!!

Conan O'Brien Targeted in Lawsuit Claiming He Lifted Jokes from Twitter hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/conan-… 12:10 PM - 27 Jul 2015 75 336

Andy Richter 27 Jul @AndyRichter OH NO WE'VE BEEN FOUND OUT!!

Conan O'Brien Targeted in Lawsuit Claiming He Lifted Jokes from Twitter hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/conan-…

Andy Richter Follow @AndyRichter

There's no possible way more than one person could have concurrently had these same species-elevating insights! THESE TAKES ARE TOO HOT! 12:13 PM - 27 Jul 2015 59 489

NOW WATCH: One of the world's most popular games is getting a huge addition

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More: Innovation Digital Culture Conan O'Brien Jokes Twitter

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San Diego writer's lawsuit claims Conan O'Brien stole his jokes

(/staff/debbi-baker/) By Debbi Baker (/staff/debbi-baker/) | 12:30 p.m. July 28, 2015 | Updated , 3:19 p.m.

FILE- In this April 13, 2014, file photo, Conan O'Brien poses for a photo in the press room at the MTV Movie Awards at Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles. O'Brien is spending his Presidents Day weekend in Cuba taping segments for an episode of his TNT talk show to air next month, the network said Sunday, Feb. 15, 2015. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File) The

A San Diego comedy writer is suing Conan O’Brien in a lawsuit claiming the late-night comedian lifted jokes the author had posted on Twitter (https://twitter.com/alexkaseberg) and used them as his own.

In a suit filed July 22 that also lists Turner Broadcasting System, Time Warner and "Team Coco" writers as defendants, Robert Alexander Kaseberg claims that four jokes he posted on Twitter and/or his personal blog wound up on Conan’s show.

Read the full complaint, via The Hollywood Reporter (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/conan-obrien-targeted-lawsuit- claiming-811210), here (http://www.scribd.com/doc/272745177/Conan) and read reactions from O'Brien's sidekick Andy Richter and some of his famous below. Spoiler: They make jokes about it.

Kaseberg said he tried calling "Conan" head writer Mike Sweeney to suggest he might contribute officially to the show but was insulted in a conversation he said left him "devastated. "

"To be told by anyone you’re a failure as a comedy writer hurts," Kaseberg wrote on his blog. (http://thordoggie.blogspot.com/2015/02/0-0-1-24-108-little-bit-bad-productions.html) "To be told you’re a crazy failure by the head writer of one of your comedy idols is much worse."

Here, from the lawsuit, are Kaseberg’s and O’Brien’s jokes. Judge for yourself. http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/2015/jul/28/san-diego-man-accuses-conan-obrien-joke-stealing/all/?print Page 1 of 3 San Diego writer's lawsuitCase claims Conan3:15-cv-01637-JLS-DHB O'Brien stole his jokes | SanDiegoUnionTribune.com Document 10-1 Filed 11/20/15 Page 11 of 17 8/4/15, 3:04 PM

On Jan. 14, Kaseberg wrote: "A Delta flight this week took off from Cleveland to with just two passengers. And they fought over control of the armrest the entire flight."

That same day, O’Brien (http://teamcoco.com/jokes/january-14-2015-on-monday-a-delta-flight-from-cleveland-to-new-york-took-off- with-just-2-passengers-yet-somehow-they-spent-the-whole-flight-fighting-over-the-armrest) included this line in his show: "On Monday, a Delta flight from Cleveland to New York took off with just 2 passengers. Yet somehow, they spent the whole flight fighting over the armrest."

On Feb. 3 Kaseberg posted the following: “Tom Brady says he wants to give his MVP truck to the man who won the game for the Patriots. So enjoy that truck Pete Carroll."

The next day, O'Brien said: (http://teamcoco.com/jokes/february-4-2015-tom-brady-said-he-wants-to-give-the-truck-he-was-given-as- the-super-bowl-mvp-to-the-guy-who-won-the-super-bowl-for-the-patriots-so-brady-is-giving-his-truck-to-seahawks-coach-pete-carroll ) “Tom Brady said he wants to give the truck he was given as the Super Bowl MVP to the guy who won the Super Bowl for the Patriots. So Brady is giving his truck to Seahawks Coach Pete Carroll.”

On Feb. 17, Kaseberg wrote: "The Washington Monument is ten inches shorter than previously thought. You know the winter has been cold when a monument suffers from shrinkage."

And O’Brien (http://teamcoco.com/jokes/february-17-2015-surveyors-announced-that-the-washington-monument-is-10-inches- shorter-than-what-s-been-recorded-of-course-the-monument-is-blaming-the-shrinkage-on-the-cold-weather), later that day, said: “Surveyors announced that the Washington Monument is 10 inches shorter than what’s been recorded. Of course, the monument is blaming the shrinkage on the cold weather.”

Finally, on June 9, Kaseberg posted this joke about Caitlyn Jenner.

“Three streets named Bruce Jenner might have to change names. And one could go from a cul-de-sac to cul-de-sackless.”

O’Brien (http://teamcoco.com/jokes/june-9-2015-some-cities-that-have-streets-named-after-bruce-jenner-are-trying-to-change-the- streets-names-to-caitlyn-jenner-and-if-you-live-on-bruce-jenner-cul-de-sac-it-will-now-be-called-a-cul-de-no-sac) said this in his monologue that night: “Some cities that have streets named after Bruce Jenner are trying to change the streets' names to Caitlyn Jenner. And if you live on Bruce Jenner Cul-de-Sac, it will now be called a Cul-de-No-Sac.

On his blog, Kaseberg wrote that he called show head writer Mike Sweeney after seeing O'Brien recite three of his jokes. But the call did not go so well.

“For what seemed like 15 agonizing minutes, Mike Sweeney, the head writer of “Conan,” angrily and loudly denied those were my jokes," Kaseberg wrote. "He was furious that I was accusing them of stealing jokes, but most of all he was incensed that I would suggest his writers would have anything to do with my pathetic blog and its author, me, a no-name failure."

Kaseberg said he has been a comedy writer for more than 20 years and has contributed to many television and radio shows including " with ."

In a February blog post after he spoke to Sweeney but before the flap over the fourth joke, Kaseberg wrote that at least he had had several jokes good enough to be included in O’Brien’s monologues. “In the end, getting three jokes nicked by 'Conan' was sort of how I imagine having sex with would be: Yes, I got screwed. But it was a lot more fun to tell people about than to experience."

With his lawsuit, Kaseberg may have the last laugh yet.

Kaseberg says in his complaint that he received no compensation, nor did he get screen or writing credits for the jokes. He is asking for more than $750,000 in damages.

The comapny behind the show released the following statement.

"We at Conaco firmly believe there is no merit to this lawsuit."

What do you think? Cast your vote in our poll.

© Copyright 2015 The San Diego Union-Tribune. All rights reserved.

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http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/2015/jul/28/san-diego-man-accuses-conan-obrien-joke-stealing/all/?print Page 3 of 3 Conan's lawsuit and Casethe danger 3:15-cv-01637-JLS-DHB of being a comedian on Twitter | Celebrities Document | En 10-1 Filed 11/20/15 Page 13 of 17 7/29/15, 10:30 AM

Conan's lawsuit and the danger of being a comedian on Twitter

BY JULIA ALEXANDER, POSTMEDIA NETWORK FIRST POSTED: TUESDAY, JULY 28, 2015 04:46 PM EDT | UPDATED: TUESDAY, JULY 28, 2015 04:54 PM EDT

Conan O'Brien. /Mario Anzuoni Since the dawn of public chat rooms, personal blogs, and social media accounts, stealing work from others and claiming it as your own has been relatively pain-free and easy.

With Twitter, being able to steal a clever 140 character joke from a professional comedian or from just about anyone else who uses the service, not only became easier, but much more anonymous.

Bots were being created and spit out into the Twittersphere like wildfire, spamming any notable comedic account and earning twice the amount of engagement (followers, retweets) for doing little to no work.

Until this past Saturday, when a Twitter user noticed five of her tweets deleted with a message from the service alleging they were removed at the orders of a copyright holder.

It looked like the age of blatantly ripping off jokes had come to an end.

Ironically enough, the dawning of Twitter hammering down on supposed joke thieves came at the same time as news broke that Conan O'Brien's late night variety hour, Conan, was being sued for allegedly lifting jokes off a lesser known comedian's Twitter account.

Robert “Alex” Kasberg filed a $600,000 lawsuit against Conan on July 22 after noticing that many of the legendary comic's monologue jokes bore eerie similarities to his own online material.

Kasberg, who claims he wrote monologue jokes for Jay Leno and Late Night over the course of twenty years, said he noticed the alleged plagiarism was on January 14, 2015.

Kasberg claimed he 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,” and was surprised to hear it repeated back to him almost verbatim that night on the show.

Conan's representatives refused to comment on the story, only acknowledging that the lawsuit had no merit, but that didn't stop Conan's sidekick, comedian Andy Richter, from chiming in on Twitter.

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Andy Richter Follow @AndyRichter

OH NO WE'VE BEEN FOUND OUT!!

Conan O'Brien Targeted in Lawsuit Claiming He Lifted Jokes from Twitter hollywoodreporter.com/thr- esq/conan-… 12:10 PM - 27 Jul 2015 70 314

Andy Richter 27 Jul @AndyRichter OH NO WE'VE BEEN FOUND OUT!!

Conan O'Brien Targeted in Lawsuit Claiming He Lifted Jokes from Twitter hollywoodreporter.com/thr- esq/conan-…

Andy Richter Follow @AndyRichter

There's no possible way more than one person could have concurrently had these same species-elevating insights! THESE TAKES ARE TOO HOT! 12:13 PM - 27 Jul 2015 53 462

This may not be the end of having to fight for popularity and recognition on a medium so poisoned, and yet indebted, to plagiarism, but comedians like Rob Delaney aren't too worried.

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter in 2013, Delaney acknowledged stolen jokes were a nuisance, but added the mark of a great comedian was being able to let the thievery slide and replace the stolen joke with a new and better one.

He repeated the sentiment in a VICE column, saying, “...if I couldn’t immediately write several more jokes to replace it, then I wasn’t funny, and I had no business calling myself a comedian.”

There's no question that it's a slippery slope for all parties involved: originators of a joke want it to be known that it's theirs and Twitter wants to ensure that every user feels safe enough to tweet what they want without the possibility of being plagiarized, but until now, neither have acted upon any formal proceedings to ensure this occurred.

Now, however, that's all changing. Who knows what's next? SPONSORED LINKS

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HOME Entertainment Latest Entertainment Videos More NEWS Conan O'Brien accused of lifting jokes off Twitter YOUR TORONTO San Diego comedy writer files lawsuit against late-show host Conan O'Brien for Drunk Ron Weasley wishes happy birthday copyright infringement over four jokes posted online OPINION SPORTS Tweet 22 1 ‹ › BUSINESS

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PHOTOS Taliban leader Mullah Omar dead – for more than two years DIVERSIONS Hackers blindside CSIS with 'cabinet-level' security breach CLASSIFIEDS Torstar buys stake in digital media company OBITUARIES Conan O'Brien is in some hot water! the comic has been slapped with a lawsuit saying he VerticalScope plagiarized someone else’s jokes. Search on after 2 Asian carp found in Inside the Star waterfront ponds By: Jillian Kestler-D’Amours Staff Reporter, Published on Tue Jul 28 2015 Falling loonie threatens Toronto woman's Oxford dream A San Diego-based comedy writer filed a lawsuit last week against the late-show host Conan O’Brien for allegedly using four jokes he posted on his personal blog and Twitter How an East York home went from a dream Video home to a dump account. U.S. dentist should be hanged for Cecil the Robert Alexander Kaseberg’s copyright infringement lawsuit, filed in a Southern lion killing, PETA says California District Court on July 22, says several of his jokes were used in O’Brien’s monologues on his TBS show, “Conan.”

One of the jokes in question was posted on Kaseberg’s blog on January 14, the lawsuit states: “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.” How an East York home went from a That same day, O’Brien made a similar joke on his show. PARTNER CONTENT dream home to a dump PanAm puts athletic facilities on the cutting edge The lawsuit alleges that a similar pattern emerged with three other jokes. Kaseberg is seeking hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages.

“We at Conaco firmly believe there is no merit to this lawsuit,” the production company behind O’Brien’s show told The Hollywood Reporter, which first broke the story. Toronto.com: Best Kitchen Temp: Picnic Spotst in T.O. Corey Mintz dives Batman’s Batmobile into DaiLo’s trouble leaves traffic chaos on Ontario highway

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BEN MARGOT / AP 2 Asian carp found in ponds near Toronto Conan O'Brien, host of the late-night show "Conan" on TBS, has been accused of lifting jokes from waterfront Twitter to use in his monologues. Batman’s Batmobile trouble leaves traffic Kevin Sartorio, a lawyer with the Toronto-based Gowlings law firm specializing in chaos on Ontario highway copyright law, said Kaseberg will have to prove three things in the suit: that he owns the U.S. dentist should be hanged for Cecil copyright to the jokes, that the O’Brien team had access to his work, and that they Video the lion killing, PETA says reproduced it. Foreign visitors to Canada to face electronic Sartorio, who said he has not reviewed the Kaseberg case specifically, told the Star that screening a first challenge may be proving that the short jokes are covered by copyright in the first place. ‘Deal with it yourself,’ dispatcher tells 911 caller helping gunshot victim “A court may decide that (the jokes are) not long enough to attract copyright protection, that they don’t amount to a literary work, for example,” he said. Gallery Blog “Whether or not a judge would find that they are protected by copyright or not depends Murray Whyte takes the on how much skill and judgment went into the joke . . . That becomes relevant then to, pulse of Toronto's visual arts ‘Is the joke based on an older joke that somebody else did a long time ago in a different scene. context, or is it something completely new?’”

O’Brien’s longtime sidekick and show announcer, comedian Andy Richter, briefly Stargazing blog addressed the lawsuit on Monday: “OH NO WE'VE BEEN FOUND OUT!!” he wrote on Read more about pop Twitter. culture and celebrity from Malene Arpe. “There’s no possible way more than one person could have concurrently had these same species-elevating insights! THESE TAKES ARE TOO HOT!” On Twitter In a blog post dated Feb. 15, Kaseberg detailed an exchange he said he had with “Conan” head writer, Mike Sweeney, over the jokes.

Kaseberg said Sweeney “angrily and loudly denied those were my jokes,” and the exchange was, he wrote, “the most disappointing thing in my comedy writing career.”

The lawsuit comes as Twitter has removed tweets containing allegedly plagiarized jokes, Wired reported on Monday. Five tweets were withheld on the platform after a freelance writer reported that a joke she posted was reproduced without properly crediting her, the magazine reported.

Twitter can withhold content after a report of infringment from the copyright holder, the company’s policy states. “Please think twice before submitting a claim or counter- notice, especially if you are unsure whether you are the actual rights holder or authorized to act on a rights holder’s behalf,” Twitter states.

http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/2015/07/28/conan-obrien-accused-of-lifting-jokes-off-twitter.html Page 2 of 3 Conan O'Brien accusedCase of lifting 3:15-cv-01637-JLS-DHB jokes off Twitter | Toronto Star Document 10-1 Filed 11/20/15 Page 17 of 17 7/29/15, 10:28 AM

Sartorio said that with social media, it has often become “very difficult if not Entertainment impossible” to find author of a joke or other work. Still, he said that this Tweets from a list by TorontoStar doesn’t excuse using material without proper sourcing.

Toronto Star Ent. 12m “You should never just assume that merely because you found something in a tweet or @StarEntertain otherwise online that it means you have permission to do anything that you want with : “Maybe we can show the world it. In particular, if you try and commercially exploit it some way, then that can be a real that not all Americans are like this jackhole.” problem.” on.thestar.com/1LYuUmg ow.ly/i/c55nf Show Summary

raju mudhar 1h More on thestar.com @rajumudhar I think this Pan Am games auction is perfect to get Stars react to Cecil the Jimmy Kimmel wins some office bean bags super cheap: lion's death $1000 if the bacheloret... govdeals.com/index.cfm?fa=M…

Toronto Star Ent. 6h @StarEntertain Vacation remake makes us wish the Griswolds

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Exhibit B Andy Richter respondsCase to Conan 3:15-cv-01637-JLS-DHB lawsuit | EW.com Document 10-2 Filed 11/20/15 Page 2 of 4 7/27/15, 5:13 PM

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Posted July 27 2015 — 6:20 PM EDT 'Lost' actor replaces 'Flash' star as Sandy Cohen in 'O.C.' musical On Monday, news of a lawsuit filed against Conan host Conan O’Brien (http://www.ew.com/article/2015/07/27/lost- for copyright infringement made its way through the news cycle, actor-replaces-flash-star-sandy-cohen-oc- musical) sparking Conan announcer Andy Richter to respond to the allegations against his longtime collaborator via Twitter. Andy Richter responds to 'Conan' lawsuit (http://www.ew.com/article/2015/07/27/andy- richter-conan-lawsuit) “There’s no possible way more than one person could have concurrently had these same species-elevating sights! THESE TAKES See a breakthrough moment for Caitlyn Jenner's mother in 'I Am Cait' ARE TOO HOT!” Richter wrote. (http://www.ew.com/article/2015/07/27/caitlyn-

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jenner-esther-bonus-i-am-cait-scene) Andy Richter 5h @AndyRichter OH NO WE'VE BEEN FOUND OUT!!

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Filed on July 22 by Robert Kaseberg, the claim alleges that O’Brien, (http://www.ew.com/article/2015/07/21/anne- TBS, and Time Warner Inc. and several others violated copyright on a hathaway-amy-schumer-trainwreck) total of four jokes, which the lawsuit states had been posted to Kaseberg’s personal blog and Twitter account before later airing during O’Brien’s Conan monologue.

According to the lawsuit, Kaseberg published this joke to his blog on Recommended by Jan. 14: “A Delta flight this week took off from Cleveland to New York with just two passengers. And they fought over the armrest the entire flight.” Photo Galleries

The lawsuit claims O’Brien went on to tell a similar joke (http://teamcoco.com/video/conan-monologue-01-14-15) during his monologue segment that day. It states that there have been three other relevant incidents since then.

TBS did not immediately respond to EW’s request for comment.

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Join the discussion… #50Scoops50Days:Ashley Matthew & Keep up with Madison Keri, Katy the latest in profiles for Perry, Cate Duh doy • 2 hours ago fall TV news TV's most Blanchett & famous More! Being a blogger is a joke job, Robert Kaseberg. (http://www.ew.com/gallery/50- 4 △ ▽ • Reply • Share › adulterers scoops-50- (http://www.people.com/people/gallery/0,,20940417,00.html? (http://www.ew.com/gallery/ashley-xid=rss- miu • an hour ago days) madison- And I thought Fitz voicing Tarzan was the most ridiculous thing I leaned today. lateststartracksphotos) profiles-tv- No, this is being sued over a tweet. characters)

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http://www.ew.com/article/2015/07/27/andy-richter-conan-lawsuit Page 3 of 3 Case 3:15-cv-01637-JLS-DHB Document 10-3 Filed 11/20/15 Page 1 of 3

Exhibit C Conan O'Brien: I didn't stealCase jokes 3:15-cv-01637-JLS-DHB from Winnetka-raised writer - Document Tribune 10-3 Filed 11/20/15 Page 2 of 3 11/7/15, 12:03 PM

Arts & Entertainment Conan O'Brien: I didn't steal jokes from Winnetka-raised writer

By Tracy Swartz • Contact Reporter

SHARE THIS Conan O'Brien: I didn't steal jokes posted online by Winnetka-raised writer

NOVEMBER 6, 2015, 11:07 AM

onan O'Brien said he and his team didn't steal jokes posted online by a Winnetka-raised C comedy writer, who sued the late-night comedian in July for copyright infringement.

O'Brien said his jokes are "independently created" and the jokes by Alex Kaseberg are "not sufficiently original to entitle (them) to copyright protection," according to paperwork filed this week in a California court. O'Brien asked for the complaint to be dismissed and for Kaseberg, 57, to pay for the costs of the suit and attorneys fees.

Kaseberg's attorney Jayson Lorenzo did not immediately return Tribune requests for comment.

Kaseberg sued O'Brien, "Conan" network TBS, Time Warner, "Conan" executive producer Jeff Ross and head writer Mike Sweeney seeking at least $600,000 plus attorney fees. Kaseberg, who now lives in California, claimed O'Brien used four of his jokes or variations of them in monologues after Kaseberg posted them on his blog and on Twitter earlier this year.

Article continues below

Kaseberg, a longtime comedy contributor to TV and print publications, said he posted this joke on his blog on Jan. 14: "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."

On the show's Team Coco website, this quote is attributed to O'Brien on Jan. 14: "On Monday, a Delta flight from Cleveland to New York took off with just 2 passengers. Yet somehow, they spent the whole

http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/ct-conan-o-brien-twitter-joke-lawsuit-20151106-story.html Page 1 of 2 Conan O'Brien: I didn't stealCase jokes 3:15-cv-01637-JLS-DHB from Winnetka-raised writer - Chicago Document Tribune 10-3 Filed 11/20/15 Page 3 of 3 11/7/15, 12:03 PM

flight fighting over the armrest."

In his suit, Kaseberg said O'Brien used his riffs on New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady's Super Bowl win, Caitlyn Jenner's transition and the Washington Monument suffering from "shrinkage" because of the cold winter. He said in the suit that he sought copyright registration for the jokes.

Social media plagiarism was recently in the news after comedian Josh Ostrovsky, also known as "The Fat Jew," was accused of stealing jokes posted on Twitter and Instagram.

Copyright © 2015, Chicago Tribune

This article is related to: Conan O'Brien

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http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/ct-conan-o-brien-twitter-joke-lawsuit-20151106-story.html Page 2 of 2 Case 3:15-cv-01637-JLS-DHB Document 10-4 Filed 11/20/15 Page 1 of 3

Jayson M. Lorenzo, Esq. SBN 216973 1 [email protected] Attorney at Law 2 2794 Gateway Road, Suite 116 Carlsbad, CA 92009 3 Tel. (760) 517-6646 Fax (760) 520-7900 4 Attorney for Plaintiff 5 ROBERT ALEXANDER KASEBERG

6

7 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 8 FOR THE CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 9

10 ROBERT ALEXANDER KASEBERG, ) Case No. 3:15-cv-01637-JLS-DHB ) 11 ) ) 12 ) DECLARATION OF JAYSON M. Plaintiff, ) LORENZO IN SUPPORT OF 13 ) PLAINTIFF’S AMENDED MOTION vs. ) FOR AN EXTENSION OF TIME TO 14 ) EFFECT SERVICE OF PROCESS ) PURSUANT TO FED. R. CIV. P. 4(m) 15 ) AND LOCAL RULE 4.1(a) ) 16 CONACO, LLC; TURNER ) BROADCASTING SYSTEM; TIME ) 17 WARNER, INC.; CONAN O’BRIEN; ) ) 18 JEFF ROSS; MIKE SWEENEY; DOES 1 ) – 10, inclusive, ) 19 ) ) 20 Defendants. ) ) 21

22

23 I, Jayson M. Lorenzo, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1746, declare and state as follows: 24 1. I am a member in good standing with the California State Bar. I have 25 personal knowledge of each matter stated herein and could competently testify thereto, 26 if called as a witness to do so. 27 2. I am counsel of record for Plaintiff Robert Alexander Kaseberg.

28 1 DECLARATION OF JAYSON M. LORENZO IN SUPPORT OF PLAINTIFF’S AMENDED MOTION FOR AN

EXTENSION OF TIME TO EFFECT SERVICE OF PROCESS PURSUANT TO FED. R. CIV. P. 4(m) AND LOCAL RULE 4.1(a)

Case 3:15-cv-01637-JLS-DHB Document 10-4 Filed 11/20/15 Page 2 of 3

1 3. This Declaration is filed in support of Plaintiff’s Motion for an Extension 2 of Time to Effect Service of Process Pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(m) and Rule 4.1(a). 3 4. I had numerous conversations via email with the attorney, who was also 4 agent for service of process, for Conaco, LLC, Leigh Brecheen and her firm. 5 5. I conducted a business search on the California Secretary of State website 6 for Conaco, LLC. I have reviewed the information provided. Attached is a true and 7 correct copy of the business search for Conaco, LLC. See Exhibit D. 8 6. On July 23, 2015, I inquired via email to Ms. Brecheen and her firm as to 9 who she would accept service on behalf of, since Mr. O'Brien, Mr. Ross and Mr. 10 Sweeney all worked for Conaco, LLC. This inquiry went unanswered. 11 7. On August 14, 2015, I sent a follow-up email to Ms. Brecheen and her 12 firm, where I wrote, "As a professional courtesy, my desire is to avoid having to serve 13 Mr. Ross, Mr. Sweeney and Mr. O'Brien personally, and avoid the possibility of 14 disrupting their workplace, home or have service effected in some other public place. 15 Will you agree to accept service on their behalf?" This email went unanswered. 16 8. I learned that Conaco, LLC was being represented by Glaser Weil Fink 17 Howard Avchen & Shapiro LLP, a firm different than the agent of service of process, 18 when Conaco answered Plaintiff’s Complaint. 19 9. On November 5, 2015, Plaintiff's counsel emailed counsel for Conaco,

20 LLC stating, " Is your firm going to be representing, Mr. O'Brien, Mr. Sweeney and Mr. 21 Ross as I believe they work Conaco, LLC. The reason I ask is that I would prefer to 22 serve them through counsel and avoid the potential inconvenience of having them 23 served in a public place as I believe it would be the more professional way to handle the 24 matter." This email went unanswered. 25 10. On or about November 10, 2015, Plaintiff attempted serving Mr. O'Brien, 26 Mr. Ross and Mr. Sweeney at Warner Bros. Studios, where the “Conan” show is taped. 27 Plaintiff was advised that service could not be completed because the server could not

28 2 DECLARATION OF JAYSON M. LORENZO IN SUPPORT OF PLAINTIFF’S AMENDED MOTION FOR AN

EXTENSION OF TIME TO EFFECT SERVICE OF PROCESS PURSUANT TO FED. R. CIV. P. 4(m) AND LOCAL RULE 4.1(a)

Case 3:15-cv-01637-JLS-DHB Document 10-4 Filed 11/20/15 Page 3 of 3

1 enter the gated Warner Bros. Studios property. Sub-service could not be completed 2 because the studio was not the business address for Conaco, LLC. 3 11. On November 13, 2015, after the failed attempts at service, Plaintiff hired a 4 private investigator to locate Mr. O'Brien, Mr. Ross and Mr. Sweeney. 5 12. On or about November 17, 2015, Plaintiff then attempted service at the 6 address provided for Conaco, LLC on the Secretary of State website. Plaintiff was 7 advised that service could not be completed, as the address provided is for accounting 8 firm that handles Conaco’s accounts. 9 13. On or about November 17, 2015, Plaintiff then attempted serve Conaco’s 10 agent of process, Leigh Breechen, Plaintiff was advised that the agent did not accept 11 sub-service for the Defendants. 12 14. On or about November 18, 2015, Plaintiffs instructed the process server to 13 attempt service at the addresses learned through investigative efforts. 14 15 I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct. Executed within the United States on this 20th day of November, 2015. 16 17 ___/s/ Jayson M. Lorenzo______18 JAYSON M. LORENZO

19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27

28 3 DECLARATION OF JAYSON M. LORENZO IN SUPPORT OF PLAINTIFF’S AMENDED MOTION FOR AN

EXTENSION OF TIME TO EFFECT SERVICE OF PROCESS PURSUANT TO FED. R. CIV. P. 4(m) AND LOCAL RULE 4.1(a)

Case 3:15-cv-01637-JLS-DHB Document 10-5 Filed 11/20/15 Page 1 of 2

Exhibit D Business Search - BusinessCase Entities 3:15-cv-01637-JLS-DHB - Business Programs Document 10-5 Filed 11/20/15 Page 2 of 2 11/13/15, 4:02 PM

Secretary of State Main Website Business Programs Notary & Authentications Elections Campaign & Lobbying

Business Entities (BE) Business Entity Detail

Online Services - E-File Statements of Data is updated to the California Business Search on Wednesday and Saturday mornings. Results Information for Corporations reflect work processed through Tuesday, November 10, 2015. Please refer to Processing Times for - Business Search the received dates of filings currently being processed. The data provided is not a complete or - Processing Times - Disclosure Search certified record of an entity.

Main Page Entity Name: CONACO, LLC

Service Options Entity Number: 201011710091 Name Availability Date Filed: 04/23/2010 Forms, Samples & Fees Statements of Information Status: ACTIVE (annual/biennial reports) Jurisdiction: CALIFORNIA Filing Tips Entity Address: 1801 CENTURY PARK E STE 1080 Information Requests (certificates, copies & Entity City, State, Zip: LOS ANGELES CA 90067 status reports) Service of Process Agent for Service of Process: LEIGH BRECHEEN FAQs Agent Address: 150 S RODEO DR 3RD FL

Contact Information Agent City, State, Zip: BEVERLY HILLS CA 90212 Resources - Business Resources - Tax Information * Indicates the information is not contained in the California Secretary of State's database. - Starting A Business * Note: If the agent for service of process is a corporation, the address of the agent may be Customer Alerts requested by ordering a status report. - Business Identity Theft - Misleading Business For information on checking or reserving a name, refer to Name Availability. Solicitations For information on ordering certificates, copies of documents and/or status reports or to request a more extensive search, refer to Information Requests. For help with searching an entity name, refer to Search Tips. For descriptions of the various fields and status types, refer to Field Descriptions and Status Definitions.

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http://kepler.sos.ca.gov/ Page 1 of 1 Case 3:15-cv-01637-JLS-DHB Document 10-6 Filed 11/20/15 Page 1 of 1

1 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE Kaseberg v. Conaco, LLC, et. al. 2 3:15-cv-01637-JLS-DHB 3 At the time of service, I was over 18 years of age and not a party to this action. 4 My business address is 2794 Gateway Road, Carlsbad, California 92009. On the date 5 indicated below, I served the following documents:

6 PLAINTIFF’S AMENDED MOTION FOR AN EXTENSION OF TIME TO EFFECT 7 SERVICE OF PROCESS PURSUANT TO FED. R. CIV. P. 4(m) AND LOCAL RULE 4.1(a); DECLARATION OF JAYSON M. LORENZO 8

9 ý By E-Mail or Electronic Transmission. I hereby certify that on the date referenced below, I 10 electronically transmitted the attached document to the Clerk’s Office using the CM/ECF System for filing and transmittal of a Notice of Electronic Filing to the following CM/ECF 11 registrants listed on the attached service list. I did not receive, within a reasonable time after the transmission, and electronic message or other indication that the transmission was 12 unsuccessful. 13 on the persons listed on the attached below: 14

15 Attorneys for Defendant PATRICIA L. GLASER 16 [email protected] Conaco, LLC ERICA J. VAN LOON 17 [email protected] 18 JESSICA E. MENDELSON 19 [email protected]

20 GLASER WEIL FINK HOWARD 21 AVCHEN & SHAPIRO LLP 10250 Constellation Boulevard, 19th Floor 22 Los Angeles, California 90067 23 Telephone: (310) 282-6250 Facsimile: (310) 785-3550 24

25 I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the United States of America that the foregoing is true and correct. Executed at Carlsbad, California, on November 26 20, 2015. 27 28 Lorie K. Mallari

1 PROOF OF SERVICE