Who controls the rights to what Looney Tunes?
Turner currently holds the rights to all color cartoons copyrighted prior to Sept. 1, 1948 plus all black-and-white Harman/Ising Merrie Melodies except 1931’s “Lady Play Your Mandolin”. Warner owns all the rest, and both companies claim to own 1948’s “Odor of the Day”. Note also, that many of the cartoons controlled by Turner are now in the public domain (presumably due to forgetfulness or laziness on the part of Associated Artists Productions in renewing the copyright). These are the cartoons that you will find on the bargain-basement compilations. Beware of poor tape quality on such compilations.