Chinese TV show accused of joke theft

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BEIJING, Aug. 6 (UPI) -- Online commenters have accused popular Chinese TV series "Ipartment" of lifting plots and jokes from popular U.S. television shows.

Posters on Web sites including Sina Weibo, tianya.cn and douban.com have accused the series of listing plots, lines and jokes from U.S. shows including "How I Met Your Mother," "The Big Bang Theory" and "Friends," the Global Times reported Monday.

"Many lines and scenes have been completely ripped off from American shows. I thought it was shameful to do this. It is an insult to the American TV producers and an insult to the screenwriters and producers of original Chinese TV shows," said a commenter who asked to be identified only as Grace.

The show's producers apologized Saturday to a U.S. writer whose jokes were used on the show without permission. The producers said the jokes on the show come from "various sources."