Lee Mendelson Film Productions, the family-owned company that controls the Vince Guaraldi music catalog associated with the Peanuts television specials, has filed four copyright infringement lawsuits in federal courts.
The suits, filed on Wednesday (May 20) in New York and Washington, D.C., target video game publisher GameMill Entertainment, auction house Heritage Auctions, accessories manufacturer Buckle-Down Inc., and the U.S. Department of the Interior.
LMFP says the legal actions are intended to halt what it describes as a pattern of unauthorized commercial use of Guaraldi‘s compositions – music that has been central to the Peanuts franchise since the 1965 television special A Charlie Brown Christmas.
“Unauthorized use doesn’t just violate the law, it erodes the exclusivity and artistic integrity that make these compositions meaningful to generations of fans,” said Marc Jacobson, lead attorney for LMFP.
“These legal actions convey that LMFP will no longer tolerate companies using their property without a license, especially in this era of instant digital sharing, and that the rights of creators and the protection of iconic cultural assets must be vigorously enforced.
“Each of the law firms representing LMFP [is] among the finest in the country for music copyright related matters.”
“Unauthorized use doesn’t just violate the law, it erodes the exclusivity and artistic integrity that make these compositions meaningful to generations of fans.”
Marc Jacobson, Lead Attorney for Lee Mendelson Film Productions
The four lawsuits were filed by the Law Offices of Marc Jacobson – two in the U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, one in the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York, and one in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims in Washington, D.C.
LMFP is seeking at least $300,000 from GameMill, along with injunctions in all four cases requiring the defendants to cease the alleged infringing activity, according to the lawsuit, which you can read here.
The GameMill suit – the case that appears to be at the core of the complaint in the linked court filing – alleges that the publisher’s 2025 title Snoopy & The Great Mystery Club features background music that is “substantially similar” to Guaraldi compositions including Linus and Lucy and Skating.
According to the complaint, GameMill licensed the Peanuts visual and character rights for the game but did not seek or obtain a license from LMFP for the Guaraldi music catalog.
The suit against Heritage Auctions (read here) alleges the unauthorized use of Linus and Lucy – the composition that has become the de facto Peanuts theme – in Facebook and Instagram posts promoting an auction of collectibles.
“These legal actions convey that LMFP will no longer tolerate companies using their property without a license, especially in this era of instant digital sharing, and that the rights of creators and the protection of iconic cultural assets must be vigorously enforced.”
Marc Jacobson, Lead Attorney for Lee Mendelson Film Productions
The complaint against Buckle-Down Inc., a belt company that makes Peanuts-themed products, contains similar allegations of unauthorized music use in social media advertising, according to the complaint, which you can read here.
The case against the Department of the Interior (read here) cites the alleged unlicensed use of Guaraldi‘s arrangement of O Tannenbaum in a digital holiday card that was distributed across multiple social media platforms before Christmas last year, according to the press release.
The Interior Department told the Associated Press that it does not comment on litigation.
The LMFP lawsuits add to a growing wave of copyright enforcement actions targeting the unauthorized use of music in social media content.
In recent years, the major music companies have filed a string of lawsuits against brands and organizations for using copyrighted music in social media posts without permission.
Warner Music Group sued retail chain DSW in May 2025 for allegedly infringing more than 200 works in TikTok and Instagram posts, while Sony Music filed suit against the University of Southern California earlier that year over music used in the school’s social media content.
In 2024, 14 NBA teams were sued by music publishers including Kobalt over alleged unauthorized use of music in promotional videos posted to social media.
What distinguishes the LMFP action is the nature of the catalog involved: Guaraldi‘s compositions for the Peanuts specials – produced in collaboration with Lee Mendelson and animator Bill Melendez – have sold more than 5 million copies in the United States, according to the company.
LMFP said the GameMill case raises a distinct issue from the social media claims: not the direct use of copyrighted recordings, but the creation of new compositions allegedly designed to mimic and evoke the originals.
Lee Mendelson, who founded LMFP in 1963 and was instrumental in bringing Guaraldi‘s music to the Peanuts franchise, died on December 25, 2019.
Peanuts Worldwide LLC, which owns the rights to Charlie Brown, Snoopy, and the other characters – and was recently majority-acquired by Sony – is not a party in any of the four lawsuits.Music Business Worldwide
