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What Channel Is Stephen Colbert on Tonight

Stephen Colbert may never be himself again — or at least, the version of himself that appeared on Comedy Central's "The Colbert Report."

After briefly resurrecting the "Colbert Show" iteration of Stephen Colbert last week, the host of CBS' "Late Show" announced Wednesday that a lawyer from another company had contacted CBS's top lawyer to say that the character Stephen Colbert is their intellectual property.

"So, it is with a heavy heart that I announce that — thanks to corporate lawyers — the character of Stephen Colbert, host of 'The Colbert Report,' will never be seen again," Colbert said.

Also Read: Stephen Colbert Can't Use 'Colbert Report' Character on CBS, Lawyers Say (Video)

But can Colbert really be legally barred from portraying a version of himself?

"I do think that they could stop him from using it as a character to the extent that he's saying it's the same character that was on Comedy Central," Jeremiah Reynolds, partner at Kinsella, Weitzman, Iser, Kump & Aldisert. told TheWrap.

Reynolds said that the other company (presumably, Comedy Central — Colbert didn't specify on Wednesday's episode) could make a claim of copyright infringement, though it might be easier to take on Colbert himself for breach of contract.

Also Read: Stephen Colbert Reprises 'Report' Character With Jon Stewart to Crush Donald Trump (Video)

"Let's say that he agreed in his contract with Comedy Central, 'I will never, ever perform this character of Stephen Colbert outside of Comedy Central.' Now that's an easier claim for them to make, because all they have to prove in that instance is that it's the same character," Reynolds said.

CBS isn't bound by the strictures of Colbert's Comedy Central contract. So, were Comedy Central to go after CBS, Reynolds said, "They'd have to make some sort of copyright claim. They'd have to allege that it's the identical character, and that character can be copyrighted, and that's a tougher standard."

Given the ties between CBS and Comedy Central — they both ultimately fall under Sumner Redstone's media empire — Reynolds finds it highly unlikely that the two outlets would do legal battle with each other.

Also Read: Stephen Colbert's Heartfelt Cold Open Ruined by 'Pokemon Go' (Video)

"It would be a huge embarrassment for sister companies to sue each other," Reynolds said. "I can't imagine that [CBS Corporation CEO] Les Moonves would ever let it get to that point."

As a workaround to his legal encumbrance, Colbert introduced yet another iteration of himself on Wednesday's "Late Show" — Stephen Colbert's "identical twin cousin" also named, yup, Stephen Colbert. Colbert 3.0 seemed to act and think an awful lot like the Colbert of the "Colbert Report" years, who was a spoof of conservative pundits a la Fox News Channel's Bill O'Reilly.

Reynolds said that the new-ish persona could offer Colbert a level of protection, as "The courts really provide tremendous protection for parody."

"It's two levels of parody," Reynolds offered. "Now he's doing a parody of a parody. He's doing a parody of this other character. So I think he's got a couple of different arguments."

"I think they'd have a really hard time stopping him from acting in the manner of a parody of a right-wing talk-show host," Reynolds added. "I think a court would find that too generalized to be protectable."

14 Late Night TV Hosts Ranked by Popularity (Photos)

  • Stephen Colbert, "The Colbert Report" 18+ Q Score: 20,18-34 Q Score: 25

  • John Oliver, "Last Week Tonight" 18+ Q Score: 18, 18-34 Q Score: 17

  • Jon Stewart, "The Daily Show" 18+ Q Score: 16, 18-34 Q Score: 18

  • Seth Meyers, "Late Night" 18+ Q Score: 16, 18-34 Q Score: 16

  • Jay Leno, "Tonight Show" 18+ Q Score: 15, 18-34 Q Score: 14

  • Andy Cohen, "Watch What Happens Live" 18+ Q Score: 14, 18-34 Q Score: 15

  • Jimmy Fallon, "The Tonight Show" 18+ Q Score: 13, 18-34 Q Score: 18

  • Craig Ferguson, "The Late Late Show" 18+ Q Score: 12, 18-34 Q Score: 15

  • Chelsea Handler, "Chelsea Lately" 18+ Q Score: 12, 18-34 Q Score: 16

  • Jimmy Kimmel, "Jimmy Kimmel Live" 18+ Q Score: 10, 18-34 Q Score: 16

  • Conan O'Brien, "Conan" 18+ Q Score: 10, 18-34 Q Score: 19

  • David Letterman, "The Late Show" 18+ Q Score: 9, 18-34 Q Score: 11

  • Carson Daly, "Last Call" 18+ Q Score: 9, 18-34 Q Score: 12

  • Arsenio Hall, "The Arsenio Hall Show" 18+ Q Score: 8, 18-34 Q Score: 9

Stephen Colbert's followers revere him, while Arsenio Hall is in the doghouse. How late night TV hosts rank according to Positive Q Scores among adults

Stephen Colbert, "The Colbert Report" 18+ Q Score: 20,18-34 Q Score: 25

What Channel Is Stephen Colbert on Tonight

Source: https://www.thewrap.com/can-stephen-colbert-really-be-legally-stopped-from-being-stephen-colbert/