Stephen Colbert and the Future of TV Intellectual Property

The Takeaway | Aug 8, 2016

When Stephen Colbert created and portrayed the character of "Stephen Colbert," the quirky, conservative, Bill O'Reilly-esque host of "The Colbert Report," he created intellectual property.

After a decade, he left that show and its parent company, Viacom, in 2015 to host "The Late Show" on CBS. Viacom says this means that the infamous "Colbert" character must be left behind as well.

The real Stephen Colbert tried to work around this stipulation during the Democratic and Republican National Conventions, by creating Stephen Colbert's twin cousin, Stephen Colbert. Though audiences had a good laugh at this, intellectual property lawyers are scrambling to work something out. Intellectual property counselor, Tom Ewing discusses the issue and how it might impact future intellectual property disputes in the entertainment industry.

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