[2] Ford Motor created an ad campaign for the Mercury Sable that specifically was meant to inspire nostalgic sentiments through the use of famous songs from the 1970s sung by their original artists.

Subsequently, the company hired a voice-impersonator of Midler and carried on with using the song for the commercial, since it had been approved by the copyright-holder.

[3] Midler brought the case to a district court where she claimed that her voice was protected from appropriation and thus sought compensation.

The district court claimed there was no legal principle preventing the use of her voice and granted summary judgment to Ford Motor.

Midler was not seeking damages for copyright infringement of the song itself, but rather for the use of her voice which she claimed was distinctive of her person as a singer.