The closing episode of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on May 21 was raucous hit and a bittersweet goodbye to 33 years on CBS airtime, featuring a huge slate of celebrity cameos, old friends peeking in to say hello, and some hilarious gags and skits for one last laugh. During his final “Meanwhile” segment, host Stephen Colbert (The Colbert Report, The Daily Show) discussed the recent copyright lawsuits submitted by the owner of the Peanuts television and film music catalog for alleged unlawful use of its famous tracks from jazz artist Vince Guaraldi.
After announcing the headline, Colbert remarked on the lasting brand and corporate identity of Peanuts throughout decades, only to be cut off by his band – Louis Cato & The Great Big Joy Machine – playing the iconic “Linus and Lucy” song from Peanuts. After clarifying the song choice, and that this particular one is the subject of the aforementioned lawsuits, the band is cut off from continuing by Colbert.
“Is the band, right now, playing the same Peanuts music that I just said people are being sued for, for using without permission? […] Oh no! I hope this doesn’t cost CBS any money!” said Colbert, while the members of the band bashfully shrug in response.
View the full segment below, via The Late Show on YouTube.
As for the original story, it is indeed true that the owner of the music that is used in Peanuts television and film has filed federal copyright lawsuits on the unlawful use of these arrangements. Lee Mendelson Film Productions has filed against the U.S. Department of the Interior and three companies; Heritage Auctions, Buckle-Down Inc., and GameMill Entertainment. In an interview with The New York Times on Thursday, Mark Jacobson (lawyer for Lee Mendelson Film Productions) said that the company had elected, after enduring and tolerating constant unauthorized usage, to “make a[n official] statement and file all four lawsuits on the same day.”
Continued, Jacobson added:
“We’ve written demand letters to people over and over again, and these four companies either didn’t respond to us or they responded in a way that indicated they really didn’t care that they were using the music without permission.”
Of particular concern was the use of the music on social media platforms, such as TikTok, and that the music allowed on Meta-owned apps is only for personal use and not commercial purposes.
In relation to the allegations set forward by these suits, via USA Today; Heritage Auction and Buckle-Down Inc. are highlighted for using the music in content that had been allegedly created to specifically drive consumer traffic and sales for Peanuts-related products, GameMill Entertainment’s publisher allegedly created heavily similar music to the original pieces for their image-licensed game Snoopy & The Great Mystery Club, and the Interior Department allegedly used “O Tannenbaum” from A Charlie Brown Christmas in a digital holiday card on social media allegedly without prior authorization.
While the companies and organizations themselves have refrained from directly responding to the allegations, Jacobson warned in his interview with The New York Times that Lee Mendelson Film Productions would continue filing against companies that had used parts of the Peanuts music catalogue without authorization, and that “those letters will be going out next week.”
The Late Show’s last episode gathered the largest viewership ever for weeknight episode during Colbert’s tenure as host. CBS’s cancellation and retirement of the franchise and show has drawn heavy criticism despite the network’s claims that it was a purely financial decision.
The final episode can currently be viewed via streaming on Paramount+.