Stephen Colbert made a sad announcement on Wednesday night’s “Late Show”: His iconic “Stephen Colbert” character will never be seen again.

Colbert explained to his audience that after the character’s recent revival on CBS’s late-night talk show, corporate lawyers from “another company” contacted the network to deliver a stern cease and desist.

It seems that “Colbert” is this nameless company’s intellectual property.

“Surprising,” Colbert told his viewers, because “I never considered that guy much of an intellectual.”

This being Colbert, however, he wasn’t about to go down without a power move, and he quickly announced the introduction of a brand new character: “Stephen Colbert’s” identical twin cousin, ”Stephen Colbert.”

If the two characters sound a lot alike, that’s because they are. But don’t tell that other company.