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.
