Comedians get last laugh in joke book suit

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 24 (UPI) -- Several U.S. comedians and NBC Studios have settled a lawsuit against the author and publishers of books they said recycled jokes without permission.

The suit, brought by Jay Leno, Rita Rudner, Jimmy Brogan, Diane Nichols and others, alleged author Judy Brown and her publishers violated federal copyright and trademark statutes by engaging in the wholesale and unauthorized reproduction of the plaintiffs' original material in Brown's joke book compilations, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, the firm representing the comedians and NBC Studios, said in a statement.

Under the settlement, Brown's publishers pledged to immediately cease the distribution, manufacture and sale of her joke books, as well as pay compensation to the comedians.

Brown also agreed to a monetary settlement, apologized for her actions and promised to never again copy any of the plaintiffs' jokes without permission to do so, the law firm said.

"I thought it was important to make it clear that jokes are protected like any other art form. 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 said in a statement.