New York  - A New York judge on Thursday dismissed a lawsuit that accused actor Jerry Seinfeld's wife, Jessica, of plagiarizing some of the content of her best-selling cookbook.

The lawsuit accused Jerry Seinfeld of defamation for denying the allegations on national television.

Cookbook author Missy Chase Lapine claimed last year that Jessica Seinfeld's book, Deceptively Delicious: Simple Secrets to Getting Your Kids Eating Good Food, was a copy of her earlier tome The Sneaky Chef: Simple Strategies for Hiding Healthy Foods in Kids' Favourite Meals.

In a ruling Thursday, US District Judge Laura Swain dismissed the claims.

"Many of the alleged similarities are shared by cookbooks as a whole, and the genre of cookbooks addressing encouraging healthy eating in children," she said.

In an further blow to the plaintiff, Swain noted that Lapine's book was filled with "dry, rather text-heavy work," whereas Jessica Seinfeld's was "bright and cheerful, full of different colors." (dpa)