When
Charles Chaplin's
Modern Times (1936) premiered, the original distribution company of À nous la liberté, Tobis, wanted to sue. Director
René Clair refused to join such a suit, saying that he considered it a compliment if
Charles Chaplin based his film on
René Clair's, but the suit went ahead nevertheless. Tobis, sued United Artists and
Charles Chaplin 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, at the request of his lawyers, finally settled, but never admitted to the charge.
René Clair stayed aloof from the affair, and he and
Charles Chaplin, whom he greatly admired, remained friends.