 When Charles Chaplin (qv)s _Modern Times (1936)_ (qv) premiered,  the original distribution company of À nous la liberté, Tobis,  wanted to sue. Director René Clair (qv) refused to join such a  suit, saying that he considered it a compliment if  Charles Chaplin (qv) based his film on René Clair (qv)s, but  the suit went ahead nevertheless. Tobis, sued United Artists and  Charles Chaplin (qv) for plagiarism. The suit, with separate  segments in France and in the US, went on for more than a decade,  right through WWII. Charles Chaplin (qv), at the request of his  lawyers, finally settled, but never admitted to the charge.  René Clair (qv) stayed aloof from the affair, and he and  Charles Chaplin (qv), whom he greatly admired, remained friends.