For decades, “Sweeet Bet-tee” Boop has overcome her share of perils and reveled in her triumphs. She’s among a golden group of characters who still draw crowds, whether on Broadway or in the smartest shops. Now Betty’s making headlines because the 1930 cartoon, Dizzy Dishes has fallen into the public domain. But that does not apply to Betty herself. Her interests are being carefully protected by family and friends in her original Fleischer Studios neighborhood.

Fleischer Studios’ Chairman/CEO, Mark Fleischer, spent much of his career as a transactional entertainment attorney negotiating agreements with studios and producers and actors, directors, and writers. He is the grandson of legendary cartoon giant and master inventor, Max Fleischer, who created Betty and first brought Popeye, Superman, and Gulliver to the big screen. His father, Richard Fleischer, directed Hollywood classics like 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Soylent Green, Doctor Dolittle, and Narrow Margin. As a steward of this legacy, Fleischer is devoted to protecting the animated lady who can win you with a wink. 

The fact is that Dizzy Dishes is in public domain, as a film in and of itself. The characters and other elements, like music and songs, are a different story. Betty Boop, as most everyone recognizes her, is both copyrighted and trademarked by Fleischer Studios, which licenses her presence on merchandise and other projects, like Boop! The Musical (the Broadway cast album is here on Spotify .

“There are two main basic bodies of law that apply to our core business, copyrights and trademarks,” Fleischer told me. “Copyright protects the expression of works of art. Dizzy Dishes presents the precursor to the character who doesn’t look anything like Betty Boop.”

Dizzy Dishes, as seen below, takes place in a nightclub populated by characters, none of which are given names. Among the stage performers is a canine (hence the ears) chanteuse. Her look, sound, and “boop-oop-a-doop” were inspired by the numerous singers and performers of the Jazz Age.

“It’s a complicated concept, in terms of the divisibility of the copyright of the character versus the cartoon itself,” Fleischer explains. “The word ‘public domain’ has been used loosely. Some believe that ‘public domain’ means that everything about a work is now owned by the public. This is untrue. Our view is that the character in Dizzy Dishes is not the one who evolved into the character of Betty Boop that we know and love today.”

Yet as time marches on, later Betty Boop films with more familiar character designs will fall into public domain, creating the temptation for some to do her wrong. That still does not mean Fleischer Studios has lost control of the character. 

“Everything that is protected by copyright will go into the public,” said Fleischer. “Now, trademark is another totally different body of law. Trademark is meant to distinguish from copyright, in order to put the public and the consumer on notice, so to speak, as to whether they are dealing with the genuine source of that product and property. Because it is trademarked, even if the copyright on the character had entered the public domain, the character would still not be left unprotected.

Trademark protection really kicks in when a property becomes a brand–and Betty Boop is an enormous brand. People expect the highest quality. The trademark gives people the comfort to know that they’re buying the authorized, official versions. That’s something we’ve worked very, very hard over the years to establish and maintain. There will always be a trademark notice on the official items. It’ll either be a “TM” or an “R” in a circle.”

So take heed, those who might trifle with Betty Boop. She’s still got Bimbo, KoKo, Mark Fleischer and the gang out there, determined to take proper care of her good name.