The owner of the Peanuts theme song and other music from the Charlie Brown franchise has inked a series of settlements over unlicensed social media uses of Vince Guaraldi’s iconic jazz tracks.
Lee Mendelson Film Productions (LMFP) announced on Monday (Aug. 17) that it has reached a $27,500 settlement with collectibles manufacturer Buckle‑Down Inc. and a separate $20,000 deal with the U.S. Department of the Interior, both of which were sued by the catalog owner as part of a broader litigation blitz in May.
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LMFP, which owns the publishing rights to the Peanuts music scores composed by the late Guaraldi, claimed that Buckle-Down and the federal government used its songs for social media posts without first purchasing so-called synch licenses. Buckle-Down featured the famous “Linus and Lucy” theme in Instagram and TikTok ads for Peanuts-branded products, while the Interior Department used the song “O Tannenbaum” from A Charlie Brown Christmas in a digital holiday card posted to X, Facebook and Instagram.
In addition to paying a financial settlement, Buckle-Down signed a permanent injunction on July 31 that prohibits any future unlicensed use of the Peanuts catalog. The Interior Department agreement, entered on Aug. 3, set up a takedown procedure for LMFP to alert the Department of Justice’s intellectual property department about any future infringement by the federal government.
LMFP said Monday that two other businesses, pajama company BedHead and collectibles marketer Beast Kingdom, also recently entered into negotiated agreements over music licensing. Neither of those companies had been sued by LMFP, and settlement details were not made public.
The lead attorney for LMFP, Marc Jacobson, said in a Monday statement, “A principal goal of our enforcement actions is to educate individuals and remind businesses and government entities of what they already know — that advance written license agreements must be obtained to use music for commercial purposes.”
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“These resolutions demonstrate that no one is above the law in matters involving unauthorized use of creative works — including the federal government,” added Jacobson. “We urge companies which are planning to use Vince Guaraldi’s music to contact LMFP in advance of the intended use to negotiate a proper license, since the cost of a license secured in advance is significantly lower than the cost of resolving a claim for infringement.”
Reps for the government, Buckle-Down, BedHead and Beast Kingdom did not immediately return requests for comment on the settlements.
LMFP has long protected its rights to the Peanuts music catalog, including by filing copyright claims against Dolly Parton’s Dollywood theme park back in 2019. But it went on an even larger offensive this past spring, launching four different lawsuits in one day. Two other companies targeted in that spree, GameMill Entertainment and Heritage Auctions, are still involved in active litigation with LMFP.
A day later, Stephen Colbert covered the legal actions and cheekily played “Linus and Lucy” himself in the final episode of The Late Show in an apparent effort to get his erstwhile network sued: “I hope this doesn’t cost CBS any money!” Colbert deadpanned during the segment. CBS later signed a licensing deal with LMFP over the segment, the proceeds of which were donated to the charity World Central Kitchen.
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