Editing Betty Boop (section)

===Lawsuits and recent ownership===

Ownership of the ''Boop'' cartoons has changed hands over the intervening decades due to a series of corporate mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures. In 1954 [[Paramount Pictures]] sold the TV rights to UM&M TV Corp, Paramount was selling off all of their library to pay off debts. UM&M TV Corp. went bankrupt before ever distributing the films, they only got as far as modifying the original masters with their TV titles. In 1955 [[National Telefilm Associates]] purchased all of the licenses & films owned by UM&M TV Corp. and made 16mm prints to distribute to TV stations. In 1985 NTA changed their name to [[Republic Pictures]] since much of their feature film library was old Republic movies. [[Aaron Spelling Productions]] absorbed the new Republic Pictures in 1994 and shortly after was acquired by Viacom, which also acquired Paramount Pictures. Then in 2006 [[Viacom (2005–present)|Viacom]] made a corporate split into two separate companies: CBS Corporation and [[Paramount Pictures]] (the original distributor). As of  2021, Olive Films (under license from Paramount) holds home video rights and [[Trifecta Entertainment & Media|Trifecta]] retains television rights.

The rights to the "Betty Boop" character were not sold with the cartoons by Paramount, but were transferred to Harvey Comics in 1958 along with the 'Famous Studios' cartoon characters (Casper, Herman & Katnip, Baby Huey, etc.), regardless of whether they had the rights to transfer Betty Boop, according to a 2011 US Court verdict.<ref name="law.justia.com">{{Cite web|url=https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/ca9/09-56317/09-56317-2011-08-19.html|title=Fleischer Studios, Inc. v. A.V.E.L.A., Inc., et al., No. 09-56317 (9th Cir. 2011)|website=Justia Law}}</ref><ref name="cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov">{{Cite web|url=http://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2011/02/23/09-56317.pdf|title=Fleischer Studios, Inc. v. A.V.E.L.A., Inc. Transcript of the verdict, US Courts, p. 7}}</ref> The courts, however, were unable to come to a majority decision concerning ownership of the copyright.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hull |first=Tim |date=February 24, 2011 |title=Court Says Right to Betty Boop Is Anyone's Guess |url=https://www.courthousenews.com/court-says-right-to-betty-boop-is-anyones-guess/ |access-date=2024-01-25 |website=Courthouse News Service}}</ref> A trademark on the name (but not legitimately the likeness) of Betty Boop is owned by Fleischer Studios, for which the character was created in the 1930s, but which was unable to claim copyright infringement in a 2008 district court case;<ref>{{cite web|title=Fleischer Studios, Inc., Plaintiff, v. A.V.E.L.A., Inc.; Artnostalgia.Com, Inc.; X One X Movie Archive, Inc.; Beverly Hills Teddy Bear Co.; Leo Valencia, Defendants 772 F. Supp. 2d 1135 Case No. 2:06-cv-06229-FMC-MANx Dec. 16, 2008 United States District Court, C.D. California.|date=2008-12-16|url=https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/2476031/fleischer-studios-inc-v-avela-inc/|quote=Neither NTA's 1972 acknowledgment in a letter nor the 1997 settlement agreement between Republic and Plaintiff effected a transfer of rights that are good as against the world. At most, these documents evidence the parties' recognition of rights effective only between the parties. Moreover, neither party to the instant litigation has argued or established that the rights in the original character were or are severable from the works in which the original Betty Boop appears.<br />Accordingly, Plaintiff has not demonstrated a chain of title in the relevant cartoon films or the component parts thereof that leads to and terminates with Plaintiff. Stated otherwise, Plaintiff has not established its ownership of the Betty Boop cartoon character. Accordingly, Plaintiffs' Motion for Summary Judgment and Permanent Injunction is DENIED with respect to Plaintiffs copyright infringement claim, and Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment is GRANTED with regard to Plaintiffs copyright infringement claim.}}</ref> the merchandising rights to Betty's name were licensed to King Features Syndicate,<ref name="law.justia.com"/><ref name="cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov"/> until 2021 but since then are licensed to Global Icons Inc.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Fleischer Studios Names Global Icons New Licensing Agent for Betty Boop and its Slate of Beloved Classic Characters |url=https://licensinginternational.org/news/fleischer-studios-names-global-icons-new-licensing-agent-for-betty-boop-and-its-slate-of-beloved-classic-characters/ |date=2021-01-12 |access-date=2022-05-15 |work=Licensing International}}</ref>