Lee Mendelson Film Productions Settles GameMill Copyright Suit

Six months later, Peanuts music owner Lee Mendelson Film Productions (LMFP) and video game publisher GameMill Entertainment have settled their copyright dispute.

Said dispute kicked off back in May, when LMFP slapped GameMill, Buckle-Down, Heritage Auctions, and the Department of the Interior with infringement complaints. And as we reported at the time, the GameMill action jumped out as the most interesting of the bunch.

That’s because the self-described “third-party publisher of casual games for the mass market” was very clearly authorized to release Snoopy & The Great Mystery Club in 2025. While the deal evidently didn’t extend to the famed Peanuts music, GameMill seemingly tapped a non-party composer to create an original soundtrack.

But LMFP (and one lengthy musicologist analysis) took aim at this soundtrack for allegedly containing “verbatim and near-verbatim copying of discrete, original expressive elements” found in Vince Guaraldi’s Peanuts compositions.

In any event, the suit has been settled in principle, the involved parties recently told the court. Judge Denise Cote responded by tossing the complaint, and unless one of the litigants moves to restore the suit by December 7th, the “dismissal of the action is with prejudice.”

As for where LMFP’s other legal battles stand, late July saw Buckle-Down settle by agreeing to “pay the sum of $27,500” for allegedly featuring “Linus and Lucy” in a social video (and a video promoting licensed Peanuts products at that) sans permission.

(Technically, LMFP’s original suit – and, in turn, our initial coverage – summarized Buckle-Down as having long manufactured “belt buckles and related accessories.” However, a cursory glance at the appropriate site shows that the company also deals in full belts, wallets, various bags, keychains, and pet collars alike.)

Subsequently, August saw LMFP reach an agreement with the Department of the Interior, which had allegedly incorporated “O Tannenbaum” into “a widely distributed, animated digital Christmas greeting” without authorization.

Here, the “plaintiff shall recover of and from the United States the total lump sum amount of $20,000.00,” the judgment specified.

Finally, Lee Mendelson Film Productions v. Heritage Auctions appears to be trending towards a settlement. In September, the plaintiff and the auction house requested and received a 60-day adjournment, extending to multiple deadlines, “so that they can pursue settlement discussions.”

As for the actions’ bigger-picture significance, counsel for LMFP previously told Digital Music News that “there is no connection between the filing of these cases and Sony Music’s recent acquisition announcement.”

The latter refers to a March 2026 deal that bumped the broader Sony Group’s Peanuts Holdings LLC stake to 80%. But LMFP’s denial might not tell the full story; the litigation frenzy undoubtedly caught Sony’s attention and, at a minimum, reminded the conglomerate as well as the public of who controls the Peanuts music.