Soon after the issue hit the racks, lawyers for Archies contacted Help's publisher, James Warren, complaining of copyright infringement and that the storyline "undermined the valuable property my client has developed in these wholesome characters" and demanded the remaining copies be taken off the stands.
Instead of fighting what is believed to be a weak case, Warren reached a financial settlement with Archie and the matter was laid to rest. That is, until Kurtzman and Elder used the story again for a Goodman compilation book sometime later, with serious visual alterations to the Archer characters by Elder so is not to confuse them as Archie-inspired figures. Despite these precautions, Archie threatened to sue again and, like the last time, Warren tried to negotiate and Archie ended up owning the story and the original artwork.
There have been arguments and discussions, then and now, how this case would have won, largely on 'free speech' and Fair Use, but Kurztman and Elder ended up signing all rights to the story to Archies. The defining decision to settle in such a matter was due to financial reasons. In a 1984 interview, Kurtzman admitted: "John Goldwater felt very strongly about the sanctity of his Archie characters. The first settlement was primarily Jim Warren's decision. Since he was the man who supplied the cash; I wasn't in the position to argue the point. As far as we could see, going to court, even if we'd won, would have been a Pyrrhic victory...you know, the operation is a success but the patient died. The same holds true the second time. Goldwater seemed prepared to spend money in court. We weren't. And that's an unfairness in the system. You can get a better quality justice if you are prepared to pay for it."
Near the end of this case, Kurtzman's lawyer told his client: "Next time an issue as interesting as this comes up, please be rich."
Even though John Goldwater and Michael J. Silberkleit have tried to kill off the story and have locked the actual artwork in their basement, Goodman Beaver continued, through he ended up with a sex change as part of his survival.
After Help folded, Kurtzman and Elder approached Playboy with a comic strip with a female version of Goodman that would be later named Little Annie Fanny. Showcasing a far better sense of humor than Goldwater, Hugh Hefner bought the idea and Fanny made his...I mean, her debut in October 1962 in an episode called 'Madison Avenue'.
In 2004, Comics Journal magazine re-printed the 'Playboy' strip in full size and content in issue #262 without authorization from Archie and, so far, there hasn't been any reprisals...yet.
Sources: 'Goodman Beaver' by Harvey Kurtzman & Will Elder (Kitchen Sink Press, 1984) and 'Playboy's Little Annie Fanny' Vol. 1 by Harvey Kurtzman & Will Elder (Dark Horse Comics, 2000)