Owner of 'Peanuts' music sues 3 companies and US government alleging illegal use of its catchy tunes

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The owner of the music of “A Charlie Brown Christmas” and other “Peanuts” television specials filed four lawsuits Wednesday against defendants including the U.S. Department of the Interior, alleging they illegally used the jazzy ditties of pianist Vince Guaraldi in social media posts and a video game.

Lee Mendelson Film Productions filed the suits in federal courts in New York and Washington, D.C. The defendants also include a video game company, an auction house and a belt-maker.

One lawsuit argues the Interior Department did not have permission to use Guaraldi's arrangement of “O Tannenbaum” from “A Charlie Brown Christmas” in a digital holiday card posted to social media.

The department said in an email to The Associated Press that it does not comment on litigation. Email messages seeking comments from the other defendants were not immediately answered.

Another lawsuit alleges Heritage Auctions illegally used “Linus and Lucy” — the beloved non-Christmas song the kids dance to in “A Charlie Brown Christmas” that has become the de facto “Peanuts” theme — in posts on Facebook and Instagram promoting an auction of collectibles. Similar claims of social media misuse come in another suit against Buckle-Down Inc., a belt company that makes “Peanuts” themed products.

Lee Mendelson Film Productions of Burlingame, California, was founded by and is named for the producer who collaborated with “Peanuts” creator Charles Schulz and director Bill Melendez to create the TV specials based on Schulz's comic strip, starting with 1965's “A Charlie Brown Christmas.” Mendelson, who died in 2019, hired the jazz pianist Guaraldi to provide the mellow, often melancholy music, including “Christmas Time Is Here” and “Linus and Lucy.”

The company decided to take the sweeping action after what they said was becoming an intolerable digital glut of unfair use of the music.

Attorney Marc Jacobson said in a statement that Lee Mendelson Film Productions “will no longer tolerate companies using their property without a license, especially in this era of instant digital sharing.” He said “the rights of creators and the protection of iconic cultural assets must be vigorously enforced.”

Peanuts Worldwide LLC, which owns the rights to Charlie Brown, Snoopy and the other characters, is not a party in any of the lawsuits.

The fourth suit alleges video game publisher GameMill Entertainment, in its 2025 “Peanuts” video game Snoopy & The Great Mystery Club, violated copyright by using new music compositions meant to invoke Guaraldi's pieces including “Linus and Lucy” and “Skating.” The plaintiffs said no permission was sought for the music, and the copycat versions are too close to the originals not to require it.

Lee Mendelson Film Productions is seeking varying financial damages from the different defendants, including at least $300,000 from GameMill. And in every case, the plaintiff is seeking a judge's injunction that the alleged copyright violations immediately stop and not be repeated.