Conan O’Brien settles joke-theft lawsuit weeks before trial

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Conan O’Brien has agreed to settle a lawsuit with a writer who says the talk-show host stole jokes from his Twitter feed and blog for O’Brien’s monologue on “Conan.”

Attorneys for O’Brien and the writer, Robert Kaseberg, filed documents in San Diego federal court Thursday announcing the agreement. The terms were not disclosed.

The deal comes nearly four years after the rare joke-theft case was filed and about three weeks before the trial date.

O’Brien wrote a column in Variety explaining the settlement decision, insisting that neither he nor anyone on his staff ever heard of Kaseberg, his blog or his Twitter account, and no one stole any jokes. But O’Brien wrote that he wanted to forgo a “potentially farcical and expensive” trial.

Kaseberg’s attorneys didn’t immediately reply to a message seeking comment.