Fleischer V. Kane
In 1930, Fleischer Studios animator Grim Natwick introduced a caricature of Helen Kane, with droopy dog ears and a squeaky singing voice, in the Talkartoons cartoon Dizzy Dishes. "Betty Boop", as the character was later dubbed, soon became popular and the star of her own cartoons. In 1932, Betty Boop was changed into a human, the long dog ears becoming hoop earrings.
In May 1932, Kane filed a $250,000 suit against Paramount and Max Fleischer, charging unfair competition and wrongful appropriation in the Betty Boop cartoons. The trial opened that year with Helen Kane and Betty Boop films being viewed only by the judge. No jury was called., Bonnie Poe, Kate Wright, Margie Hines, and most notably Mae Questel were all summoned to testify.
The case dragged on for more than two years before the judge ruled against Kane, claiming her testimony did not prove that her singing style was unique and not an imitation itself; a little-known African American singer known as "Baby Esther" had been cited by the defense as "booping" in song, though it was not demonstrated that Kane copied it from her.
Read more about this topic: Helen Kane
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—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)