Patton Oswalt: Joke Theft Is No Laughing Matter (HBO) 

"If you are a comedian, you know when something's been stolen, when something is not right, when clearly someone is doing something that is just not theirs." WATCH NEXT: The video game that allows players to become everything - bit.ly/2xOKQT6

I used to steal Mitch hedberg jokes, I still do but I used to too.

The background music made it sound as if Patton Oswalt was talking about being an arms dealer.

Conan doesn't write a lot of his jokes. People should be blaming his team.

I’ll save y’all the time. All the comments are about Amy Schumer being a Joke Thief. Carry on.

The legal case surrounding Conan just ended this week: O'Brien settled out of court with Kaseberg for an undisclosed amount.

Man time flys. I remember watching Gerald on Hey Arnold when I was a kid. Now he's all grown up.

Conans monologue is written by 5+ peeps, don't get mad at Conan... he's 👏

I bet Amy Schumer feels attacked rn

So that's what the guy from Hey Arnold is doing these days.

If stealing jokes was a crime, Amy Schumer would be at the top of the FBI's most wanted list. How her name never got mentioned once during this video is beyond comprehension.

I spent the whole video saying in my head "AMY SCHUMER, AMY SCHUMER, AMY SCHUMER..."

I click this because I thought it was going to be about Amy Schumer

Vice, how do you do a piece on joke theft and not mention Amy Schumer

The interviewer has the same hair as Marge Simpson.

Ive always wondered why there isn’t the equivalent of a comedy ‘cover song’. Where you do somebody else’s bits, but it’s known and out in the open. Writing good jokes and delivering jokes well are two different skills.

That's why the person who thought of "Feeling High on Potenuse" should be given credit/acknowledgement. This is serious guys.

When you make a great joke to your friend in class and they repeat it louder and the whole class laughs.

I wrote a joke and then saw it on -American Dad- Family Guy a few years later. It was an interesting mix of pride that it was "good enough" for network TV and feeling like I was owed money. That, and realization that people can write the same joke without ever communicating with each other, especially in cases where the jokes seem to write themselves.

In the Conan case, you're talking about topical references to immediate news items. Nobody is beating anybody else to the punchline. They're all simply brainstorming in real-time while attempting to cull raw news stories for comedy. To that effect you could likely make a montage of all the late-night shows ripping each other off at various points on a weekly basis due to both the nature of the business and the jokes themselves. Obviously they're not watching each other's shows first and THEN writing the exact same jokes. They are instead coming up with the same basic (and often times simplistic) premises which in turn becomes roughly the same jokes being told by each of them. This situation is no different, but in this case you have an individual essentially trying to claim "First!" on the same conclusions thousands of other people also drew at the exact same time but just didn't happen to get to their Twitter feed as quickly. In some ways I would even go so far as to say this is the same mentality and tactic Patent Trolls employ, which would be a horrific precedent to set if applied to general thought or speech. Where joke stealing becomes less ambiguous and more shady is within the context of a bit or routine having an established performance history by one comedian, then later either lifted wholesale or only slightly re-worked and performed by another comedian later on. Hicks versus Leary falls within this category in my opinion. Mencia versus, well, several comedians really also falls within this category.

Legend has it the reporters hair has now reached the moon! Congratulations....

I hear Amy shumer is the biggest joke stealer but I feel that she may have found a way to get away with it. Carlos Mencia has his career ruined from stealing jokes.

Amy Schumer has built a career on stealing jokes from other people

All jokes after 1989 were stolen from the Simpsons.

I dig the interviewers eraser head hair-do

2:41 to 2:59 Very true 👍 👌 Conan's writers were clearly a fan of Kaseberg! They should've just hired Kaseberg as a writer lmao 🤣

what team coco did is shitty, but come on. how do you lose $600,000 in revenue from *tweeting*?!

I have never laughed at any of Amy Schumer's stolen jokes

Weirdest interview blocking, lighting, and camera ever. I'm not convinced these guys were wearing pants.

Carlos Mencia, I hope you’re watching this.

Goes to Kaseberg's Twitter. Sees 25 jokes about one topic in current events. Understands Kaseberg's con.

Tell it to Amy Schumer, who manages to be unfunny even with other people's jokes.

Any schemer should not have a career

Intellectual property,. We need better ethical discussions over the ownership of ideas. Right now it seems profit is the only argument for intellectual property.

Ever since I've seen Ratatouille I can't help but think of Remy when I hear him

When I’m an old man I’m stealing all the greatest jokes of my era. And I don’t give AF. 😂💯

I wonder if Amy Schumer saw this.

I don't think Conan stole those jokes. Those were literally the easiest jokes I've ever heard

Why was the end of that interview so awkward?

Amy schumer is the queen of joke stealing

Personally I love Patton and his observational, conversational, reality based bits. He just makes fun of himself, pokes fun at the trial of fatherhood, being a good husband, and wacky life in general. His older bit were stolen, but his stuff now is just so HIM you'd know if someone stole it. I agree with him. It's one thing to write a lame joke with an obvious punchline, and then get mad when another hack comedian writes a joke on the same worn out topic and then goes right to that same obvious punchline. But when a comedian writes a joke in his style, on a topic he would write about or finds uniquely funny, and then another lesser comedian does then exact same bit the same way it is stealing. Guys like Seinfeld have such a signature style you know a bit is theirs just by the wording and delivery and that cannot be copied. They worked hard too be unique and original and I can understand them getting mad about a bit being copied to closely. And and audience theses days should be more discerning.

arrest amy schumer.

I just found out two days ago sean Astin isn't Patton Oswalt

*cough* AMY SCHUMER!!! *cough*

"Hey, am I the only person with a rotary cell phone?" "Let's not open that can of worms!"

How do you accidentally steal something?! 🤣 What a joke!…. No pun intended.

1:55 I have had the same stuff happen to me as a musician before. After fucking around coming up with riffs sometimes i will come up with some riff that i think is awesome just to later find out its from a song i listen to that i forgot was in that song until i listen to it later. And i had never played those particular notes in the riff ever before but i later figure out why i wanted to keep it for a song. Now, usually before the song is done i'll figure it out and take the riff out or change it just enough to not be stolen. But its still pretty much based off of that riff hahahaha. There are inly so many ways to play and different variations before all the good riffs are taken. I play metal so a lot of riffs are similar to other people's riffs.

As far as "The environment for a joke stealer could be very unpleasant" I think we are already in that time. "Mind of Mencia" was a big hit show on comedy central until Carlos Mencia was proven to be a joke thief. I really like Conan O'Brien, but I think in this case they are clearly at fault, and the issue is that one of Conan's writers' stole the jokes off the web, and the right way to handle it would be to fire said writer, and admit fault on air. Because the evidence is plain as day and you can't silence these things today. Conan and his company took the wrong approach, instead they could have acknowledged a writer stole some jokes, fired the writer, made fun of themselves and hold on to the show's integrity, which is a big thing with the Conan Show. Conan is the ostracized late night host, the one who wasn't supposed to succeed but ended up hosting "Late Night" longer than Letterman, and fair and square earned "The Tonight Show" but declined to bend that show's traditions to the will of a major network, and had the balls to lose that coveted show. So to be clearly in the wrong NOW with stealing jokes, which one of the stupid young writers clearly did....just fucking admit Conan. Admit the wrong doing, fire the writer, make fun of yourself, and continue to have comedic integrity and freedom of voice in a way Colbert, Fallon, and even Kimmel clearly cannot. If ever there was a hill NOT to die on, it's to defend yourself as a non joke theif, when clearly it took place.

Hands up... Who thought this was about Amy Schumer??

"you've accidently killed your wife...I mean stole a joke..."

I clicked on this because I thought of Amy Schumar

Two things: cryptomnesia and convergent evolution. We constantly forget where an idea came from, to the point that you truly feel it is a genuine idea (until you are reminded), and we sometimes get to the same development of ideas (independently) because we are inspired from the same events we witness at the same time. It is not always a case of plagiarism.

May Patrice O'Neal haunt Amy Schumer Ms. Potato Head face till she passes for stealing his jokes.

I remember when the show "Mind of Mencia" came under fire for the same reason.

Robin Williams pissed off a lot of people by stealing jokes. Some comedians would leave the stage if they knew he was in the audience.

Nobody accidentally steals jokes. And the parallel thinking excuse is BS. I’ve been doing standup for 16 years. We all know who the joke stealers are so we can’t even do our killer new bits when they’re performing on the same show. I no longer put my stuff on RU-vid because a gay comic in Boston already stole 2 of my bits so obviously other comics came to me to tell me “ hey just so know ... “ I hope Conan’s bosses had to pay handsomely for stealing his jokes. It takes time to work a bit and perfect it so you are definitely taking someone’s money and energy when you lift a bit. It’s a sad part of standup we should stop accepting. Hopefully a precedent gets set so someday big comics can no longer steal from up and comers.

Wow this was really fantastic I would love to see a whole documentary about this with all different comedians

Maybe the interviewer still thinks he's in the early 90s when the high top fade was still considered... trendy!? STEAL THAT!!!

So a little Muslim boy approaches his father and asks about his funny hat: The father said: "Why, my son, it is a 'chechia.' In the desert it protects our heads from the intense heat of the sun.” "And what is the long flowing robe you are wearing?” asked the boy. “Oh, my son!” exclaimed the father “It is very simple. This is a 'djbellah.' As I have told you, in the desert it is not only very hot, but the sand is always blowing. My djbellah protects the entire body." The son then asked: "But Father, what about those ugly shoes you have on your feet?” "These are 'kabouches' my son,” the father replied. You must understand that although the desert sands are very beautiful, they are also extremely hot. These babouches keep us from burning our feet." "So tell me then," added the boy. "Yes, my son…” "Why are we living in Cambridge and still wearing all this shit?”

Carlos Mencia is sweating while watching this

The greatest joke in this video....Is the interviewers two-story townhouse hair.

Shows like conan mostly do current event humour so the writers for those types of shows tend to go to news papers etc. to find out what is current then they make jokes from that so it is highly likely for 2 people to come up with the same joke when they are working from the same news story so its not always a case of joke theft.

Is that Vice interviewer the son of Kid from Kid 'n Play?

My heart goes out for Oswald, hes such an awesome person

Carlos Mencia has a new comedy special. It's called "Eddie Murphy: Delirious"

Joe Rogan brought me to Carlos Mencia, Carlos Mencia brought me to Amy Schumer, Amy Schumer brought me to here

also looking at you, amy schumer

How do you monetize a joke? Did Conan make an extra $600,000 from those jokes?

But Conan's act it written but probably a dozen people...and Conan is actually funny unlike Amy Schumer

Imagine if joke stealing was a crime....Amy Schumer would have a tons of lawsuit against her

My dude there looks like he's pimping out his calculators

The worst part is the hypocrisy ...

The Amy Schumer roast is amazing

Trevor Noah. Biggest joke thief of all. Worst comedian of all time.

o'briens a funny guy,not saying he isn't, but kaseberg is suing for 600,000?, they were funny but not THAT funny

No one ever steals my jokes. Even the super concentrated farts in the tub one

Unless a comedian has grown up in solitary confinement, their jokes are not written from “nothing” they are all inspired from by what they hear every day.

@Amy Schumer edit: shit. thought that might work

Amy Shumer anyone. She steals jokes from everyone.

every stage just needs Joe Rogan on standby to jump in and roast joke theives

it does happen. ive done it more than once. but the big difference is, ive never done it deliberately, and when someone has pointed it out to me, ive always apologised and stopped doing the joke.

I used to love denis Leary till I found out he stole his entire act.

Amy Schumer

Why is patron an expert witness at his buddies trial? They don't realise that he and Conan have always been friends and he may be biased?

"Conan stole a few jokes" okay how much do you think they cost? "IDK about $600,000"

Conan settled with the guy in May 2019. Wrote that he still didn't steal the joke :)

This guy's hair is too distracting. I just keep thinking about his hair.

If this was real Amy Schumer would be broke and begging on the streets. lol.

NOOOOOO not Conan! 😭😭😭 I blame the writers tbh and I’m sure Conan is unaware of plagiarism

The problem with the accusations of theft in the case mentioned hear is that the jokes are very simple. It’s a bit of current news with a single line added. They are low hanging fruit jokes. The Washington monument if widely considered phallic. It’s not a stretch to think two people could independently come up with “shrinkage”.

I just typed Amy Schumer and this video popped up lmaoooo

*Cough cough* Amy Schumer

Glassin

Nobody steals jokes like Amy Schumer.

If it's that bad to steal someone's joke I'm going to start riots the next time I hear the same knock knock joke

Yeah blame the writers not Conan. He would virtually have no knowledge of that

Oh wow!

This has happened to me as well with The Daily Show using a joke I tweeted 5 days earlier. And I had a DS and a Comedy Central writer both following me at the time. Guess I shoulda got a lawyer.

Guarantee this was just a lazy writer on staff. Maybe a person who cheated their way through school... it’s not impossible that since these jokes are topical humor, there was no stealing.

I used to steal Chris Connell's Mitch Hedberg jokes. I still do, but I used to too.