Since he stepped from NBC, late-night talk show host Conan O'Brien has been fairly mum about the intellectual property he helped to develop during his longstanding stint at the network. What would become of the Masturbating Bear and Triumph the Insult Comic Dog?

We all figured they were done for, part of a $45 million deal with the network to have the ginger-headed comic exit peacefully. But wait …

Only 12 days before the debut of his new TBS late-nighter, Conan, the man says he'll fight for possession of the Masturbating Bear.

He tells Rolling Stone (via FishbowlLA):

“I won't be denied my Masturbating Bear! … What I really wanna do is be sued over the bear and then appear in court with the Masturbating Bear. 'Your Honor, this bear can't help himself!'”

Here's the thing, if he's serious: Does NBC really want to go to bat for characters that O'Brien's team developed? Are DVD sales of Masturbating Bear clips really that lucrative? Do they want to continue to look like the bad guys as Conan provides yet another alternative to the network's late-night empire?

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