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Leno, et al., settle in joke book case

Gina Serpe writing for Eonline.com tells of the resolution of the lawsuit that Leno (and NBC and a gaggle of other comedians) brought against joke book author Judy Brown. The deal involves cash (going to charity) and an agreement from the publishers to cease the distribution, manufacture and sale of the 19 joke books that were published by three different publishers.

“I thought it was important to make it clear that jokes are protected like any other art form,” Leno said of the case. “On behalf of the tremendous and talented group of writers we have at The Tonight Show and many other hardworking comedians, I’m very glad we’ve been able to stop this practice once and for all.”

Leno’s lawyer said:

The settlement sends a strong message that the intellectual property rights of comedy writers must be respected.