Schulz Family Regains Peanuts Rights

The family of late PEANUTS creator CHARLES SCHULZ has regained the rights to his classic comic strip characters CHARLIE BROWN and SNOOPY - after years of legal wrangling.

Schulz, who published his first Peanuts strip in 1950, spent years battling to regain the rights to his work, which he sold to allow his creation to appear in print.

The cartoonist’s family continued his quest after his death in 2000, and now they have won the right to buy back a 20 per cent stake.

Executives at New York-based publishing company E.W. Scripps Co. have sold the licensing rights in a $175 million (£117 million) deal which has seen the family form a partnership with licensing company Iconix Brand Group Inc.

The agreement will see the famous characters featured on new memorabilia including t-shirts and mugs, and gives Schulz’s relatives greater control over the cartoonist’s work.