CopyrightS.D.N.Y.1:26-cv-04192

Lee Mendelson Film Productions, Inc. v. Madcow, LLC

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Summary

Lee Mendelson Film Productions sues Madcow LLC for copyright infringement.

Summary generated by AI from public docket data. Verify against the original filing before relying on it.

Deep summary (AI brief of the complaint)

# Lee Mendelson Film Productions, Inc. v. Madcow, LLC ### Case No. 1:26-cv-04192 (S.D.N.Y., filed May 20, 2026) --- **Plaintiff:** Lee Mendelson Film Productions, Inc. — California corporation and music publisher of the Vince Guaraldi/Peanuts catalog, based in Burlingame, CA. **Defendant:** Madcow, LLC d/b/a GameMill Entertainment — Delaware LLC based in Edina, MN; publisher of the 2025 video game *Snoopy & The Great Mystery Club*. **Core allegation:** GameMill licensed Peanuts character rights from Peanuts Worldwide LLC but deliberately did not license the Guaraldi Compositions from LMFP; instead, it commissioned soundalike music for its Peanuts video game that is substantially similar to "Linus and Lucy" and "Skating," with those infringing cues occupying 89.6% of a 4.5-hour gameplay walkthrough across 15 of 17 distinct musical cues. **Asserted IP:** - "Linus and Lucy" (Vince Guaraldi, 1964) — Copyright Reg. Nos. RE0000650749 / EU0000879495 - "Skating" (Vince Guaraldi, 1965) — Copyright Reg. Nos. RE0000770106…

AI-generated from the filed complaint. Always verify against the original document.

Coverage vs reality meter

Coverage vs realityNo signal

Coverage events: 0P · 0D · 1N (8 articles)

Syndicated ×4

4 near-identical articles ran across 4 outlets within 3h — wire syndication or a PR push.

4 near-identical articles ran across 4 outlets within 3h — wire syndication or a PR push.

Coverage sentiment vs. docket activity over time

Coverage sentiment vs. docket activity over time▲ plaintiff-favorable▼ defendant-favorable2026-05-18 · coverage 0P / 0D / 8NDocketFiled 2026-05-20May 26May 26May 26filingruling■ plaintiff■ defendantweekly coverage · docket events

Counsel of record

For the plaintiff
Court
U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York
Docket no.
1:26-cv-04192
Nature of suit
Copyright
Judge
Denise L. Cote
Filed
2026-05-20
Last filing
2026-10-06

Cause

17:101 Copyright Infringement

Entities in this case

Lee Mendelson Film Productions3Madcow

Parties

Lee Mendelson Film Productions, Inc. (plaintiff) John Does 1-10 (defendant) Madcow, LLC (defendant)

Docket entries

  1. #242026-07-02

    No description on file

  2. #232026-06-29

    No description on file

  3. #222026-06-29

    No description on file

  4. #212026-06-23

    No description on file

  5. #202026-06-22

    No description on file

  6. #192026-06-22

    No description on file

  7. #182026-06-18

    No description on file

  8. 2026-06-17

    No description on file

  9. 2026-05-21

    ***NOTICE TO ATTORNEY REGARDING CIVIL CASE OPENING STATISTICAL ERROR CORRECTION: Notice to attorney Hillel Ira Parness. The following case opening statistical information was erroneously selected/entered: County code New York;. The following correction(s) have been made to your case entry: the County code has been modified to XX Out of State;. Corrections were updated as per the Civil Cover Sheet. (jgo)

  10. 2026-05-21

    ***NOTICE TO ATTORNEY REGARDING DEFICIENT CIVIL COVER SHEET. Notice to attorney Hillel Ira Parness to RE-FILE Document No. 2 Civil Cover Sheet. The filing is deficient for the following reason(s): the PDF attached to the docket entry for the civil cover sheet is not correct; the PDF was not properly signed by the attorney. Re-file the document using the event type Civil Cover Sheet found under the event list Other Documents and attach the correct PDF. Use civil cover sheet issued by S.D.N.Y. dated December 2025. The S.D.N.Y. Civil Cover Sheet dated December 2025 is located athttp://nysd.uscourts.gov/forms/civil-cover-sheet-2.. (jgo)

  11. 2026-05-21

    Case Designated ECF. (jgo)

  12. 2026-05-21

    No description on file

  13. 2026-05-21

    No description on file

  14. 2026-05-21

    No description on file

  15. 2026-05-21

    No description on file

  16. 2026-05-21

    No description on file

  17. 2026-05-21

    No description on file

  18. 2026-05-21

    Magistrate Judge Robyn F. Tarnofsky is designated to handle matters that may be referred in this case. Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. Section 636(c) and Fed. R. Civ. P. 73(b)(1) parties are notified that they may consent to proceed before a United States Magistrate Judge. Parties who wish to consent may access the necessary form at the following link: https://nysd.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/2018-06/AO-3.pdf. (jgo)

  19. 2026-05-21

    CASE OPENING INITIAL ASSIGNMENT NOTICE: The above-entitled action is assigned to Judge Denise L. Cote. Please download and review the Individual Practices of the assigned District Judge, located at https://nysd.uscourts.gov/judges/district-judges. Attorneys are responsible for providing courtesy copies to judges where their Individual Practices require such. Please download and review the ECF Rules and Instructions, located at https://nysd.uscourts.gov/rules/ecf-related-instructions..(jgo)

  20. 2026-05-21

    ***NOTICE TO ATTORNEY REGARDING DEFICIENT COPYRIGHT FORM. Notice to Attorney Hillel Ira Parness to RE-FILE Document No. 3 AO 121 Form Copyright - Notice of Submission by Attorney. The filing is deficient for the following reason(s):. the PDF attached to the docket entry for the AO 121 Copyright form is not correct; the Date field located at the bottom of the page was completed by the attorney. Re-file the document using the event type AO 121 Form Copyright - Notice of Submission by Attorney found under the event list Other Documents and attach the correct AO 121 Copyright PDF form. (jgo)

Docket history from CourtListener/RECAP — most recent first.

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View on CourtListener →Open in feed →Last updated 2026-10-07