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Linus responds to Blanche and the POS. . . (Original Post) Stargleamer Jun 28 OP
Great cartoon LetMyPeopleVote Jun 28 #1
Copyright violation by whoever did that cartoon, unless they had permission. highplainsdem Jun 28 #2
Correct but Lifeafter70 Jun 28 #5
What we're seeing used here are the Peanuts characters, not the clearly different characters from highplainsdem Jun 28 #6
I agree Lifeafter70 Jun 28 #7
Not an intellectual property attorney, but fair law for memes seems to be a gray area currently. Ilikepurple Jun 28 #8
Out of the mouths of babes... surfered Jun 28 #3
See reply 2. Most popular cartoon characters are not in the public domain. highplainsdem Jun 28 #4

Lifeafter70

(1,299 posts)
5. Correct but
Sun Jun 28, 2026, 10:54 PM
Jun 28

Charles schulz early cartoon strip "lil folks" is in the public domain. He did not copyright it before publishing that cartoon strip. You can use those original characters but not the names.

highplainsdem

(63,902 posts)
6. What we're seeing used here are the Peanuts characters, not the clearly different characters from
Sun Jun 28, 2026, 11:05 PM
Jun 28

Li'l Folks, and it is a copyright violation.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Li%27l_Folks

It isn't necessary to rip off copyrighted cartoon characters to get messages across.

Ilikepurple

(837 posts)
8. Not an intellectual property attorney, but fair law for memes seems to be a gray area currently.
Sun Jun 28, 2026, 11:59 PM
Jun 28

I won’t venture to guess what the ultimate determination would be here because I’m not qualified to apply the 4-factor test provided in 17 U.S. Code § 107 - Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use ( https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/17/107 ). I’m guessing few, if any, are qualified until we get a more settled caselaw in this area. Im not sure why there isn’t more caselaw in this area. I’m guessing there would be more suits if copyright owners were as concerned as you are about this issue or not as sure of the legal win or effect on Q score? The infringement on trademarked name “Linus” in the title is probably an easier argument.

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