The owner of the music for “Peanuts” TV specials has filed lawsuits against the federal government and a video publisher for using music similar to iconic Vince Guaraldi compositions without proper licensing, news outlets report.
Lee Mendelson Film Productions last Wednesday filed a lawsuit against the Interior Department accusing the agency of using Guaraldi’s arrangement of “O Tannenbaum” from “A Charlie Brown Christmas” in a digital holiday card posted on social media without permission.
The company also sued video game publisher GameMill Entertainment over the Nintendo Switch puzzle game “Snoopy & the Great Mystery Club.” The lawsuit alleges the game contains music similar to Guaraldi’s compositions without authorization.
GameMill reportedly licensed the “Peanuts” characters for the game but not Guaraldi’s musical compositions, which are owned separately by Lee Mendelson Film Productions.
Lee Mendelson Film Productions also sued Heritage Auctions and Buckle-Down Inc., accusing them of illegally using Guaraldi’s music in social media posts without permission.
Damages are estimated to exceed $300,000.
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 Associated Press reported.
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