It's a Copyright Lawsuit, Charlie Brown

Lee Mendelson Film Productions sued three companies and the U.S. Department of the Interior for copyright infringement. The claims involve unauthorized use of music from Peanuts animated specials, including holiday and character tunes, in social media posts and a video game. The suits were filed in federal courts in New York and Washington, D.C. The company said it had repeatedly sent demand letters and received no response or responses indicating indifference to using the music without permission. The company said it is especially concerned about use on certain social media platforms and stated it has no licensing deals with TikTok. It also said music authorized on Meta-owned apps is limited to personal use, not commercial purposes.

"The owner of music used in Peanuts animated specials, including the memorable holiday classic O Tannenbaum and the unmistakable Linus and Lucy tunes, sued three companies and the U.S. Department of the Interior on Wednesday. It accused them of using its captivating bops in social media posts and a video game without permission. Lee Mendelson Film Productions filed the copyright infringement suits in federal courts in New York and Washington, D.C."

"Marc Jacobson, a lawyer for Lee Mendelson Film Productions, said during an interview on Thursday that the company had been plagued by unauthorized use of its music and decided to make a statement and file all four lawsuits on the same day. We've written demand letters to people over and over again, and these four companies either didn't respond to us or they responded in a way that indicated they really didn't care that they were using the music without permission, he said."

"In addition to the U.S. government, the three accused companies are Heritage Auctions, an auction house; Buckle-Down Inc., a belt company; and GameMill Entertainment, a video game publisher. Mr. Jacobson noted that Lee Mendelson Film was especially concerned with usage of the tunes on some social media platforms. The company does not have any licensing deals with the short video app TikTok, he said."

"The music that is allowed on the apps owned by Meta, including Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp, is only authorized for personal use, not commercial purposes. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times."

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