With the exception of the Superman and Popeye cartoons, Paramount's cartoon library from prior to October 1950 was originally sold to a company called U.M.&M. T.V. Corp., which altered the original negatives to a majority of the black-and-white cartoons and modified their original front-and-end credit sequences. For the color cartoons they had a chance to retitle, they created new but cheaply done credits.

Before they could modify all the Paramount cartoons they acquired, the company was bought by National Telefilm Associates, also known as NTA. This company had a different way of modifying the color cartoons in their library. Instead of creating entirely new opening/closing sequences, NTA replaced the Paramount logos with their own, and on other title cards, all references to Paramount, Technicolor, Cinecolor, and Polacolor were replaced with black bars, including the original copyright notice. NTA placed a U.M.&M. copyright on the end NTA logo.

NTA changed its name to Republic Pictures in 1984.

Today, Paramount (through Republic, which the studio's parent company, Viacom, acquired in 1999), in a twist of irony, now owns the original elements to its 1927–September 1950 output they themselves originally released (in addition to the April 1962–December 1967 non-Comic King shorts they have retained the rights to).

Paramount now also owns the theatrical rights, while Lionsgate Entertainment (Republic's video licensee and successor to Artisan Entertainment, previously LIVE Entertainment) holds the home video rights, andTrifecta Entertainment & Media now holds most major TV rights on behalf of Republic/Paramount (aside from other major and minor/low budget film, TV, and video companies that distribute the public domain cartoons)--CBS Television Distribution (as well as its predecessor companies Paramount Domestic Television and Worldvision Enterprises) formally held such TV rights until 2009.

However, the copyrights for much of these cartoons (including the Color Classics series, the Screen Songs series, and Gulliver's Travels) were not renewed by NTA. As a result, the films entered public domain. Mr. Bug Goes to Town and the Betty Boop series are among the few films that remain under copyright to Republic.