A month after Stephen Colbert played copyrighted Peanuts music during the final taping of The Late Show in a joking effort to get CBS sued, the TV network has signed a licensing deal to avoid any legal issues from the incident.
Lee Mendelson Film Productions — the owner of the music to the Charlie Brown franchise that just launched a legal blitz over its rights — said Tuesday (June 16) it had reached a resolution with CBS over the episode, in which Colbert deadpanned: “I hope this doesn’t cost CBS any money!”
The agreement will see CBS take a license for “Linus and Lucy,” the unofficial Peanuts theme that Colbert’s band played on the air during the show. The proceeds from the deal will be donated to the charity World Central Kitchen, run by Chef José Andrés.
“LMFP found the music’s use on The Late Show funny and entertaining, and is proud to support World Central Kitchen’s mission,” the group’s chairman Jason Mendelson said. A spokeswoman for CBS confirmed the agreement but declined to comment.
LMFP is the owner of Vince Guaraldi‘s iconic jazz scores to A Charlie Brown Christmas and the many other Peanuts television specials. Last month, the company filed four infringement lawsuits, claiming its music had been repeatedly used without permission, including by a video game developer and in a Christmas card issued by the Department of the Interior.
Colbert, whose 11-year run as Late Show host ended last month, was riffing on the news of LMFP’s legal offensive when he saw an opportunity for some joking retribution at the network that had just pulled the plug on his show.
“Anyone illegally using that music is going to have to pay through the nose,” he said, as the band began playing “Linus and Lucy” in the background. “Is the band right now playing the same Peanuts music I just said people were being sued for, for using without permission? Is that what you’re doing?”
When bandleader Louis Cato confirmed and kept playing the song, Colbert quipped: “Oh no, I hope this doesn’t cost CBS any money!”
While there was speculation on social media that CBS had cleared the song ahead of the episode airing, or that it already held a blanket license that would cover it, Tuesday’s announcement would suggest that no such deal was in place that would have given the show permission.
Using a copyrighted song without prior approval can lead to infringement damages, which can far outstrip the price of a license. But in its statement Tuesday, LMFP seemed content to take the free publicity and move on without filing such a lawsuit.
“A principal goal of our enforcement actions is to educate individuals, businesses, and government entities about the need to obtain written license agreements to use music in a commercial setting,” Mendelson said.
