In 1965, a case was slapped against MAD magazine by Helen Pratt Stuff. The charge was the character Alfred E. Newman was created by her husband in 1914 and MAD had just lifted it. MAD was about to lose the case. MAD did a lot of research. And found that in 1895 Atmore’s Mince Meat Plum Pudding had released an ad using a similar looking character. This clinched the case for them. The court ruled that while MAD may not have created the character but they could use it as the character had been in public domain since 1895.
