The theme song of ‘The Andy Griffith Show’ is the subject of a legal dispute

One of the most famous theme songs in television history is now the subject of a lawsuit by the heirs of the people who wrote it.

The federal court lawsuit against CBS claims that the network is using a work titled “Theme for the Andy Griffith Show” without a license. The whistling theme opens and closes the show. Earle Hagen and Herbert Spencer wrote the tune in the 1950s and copyrighted it in 1960, according to the complaint filed Thursday in California federal court.

Rights to the theme music were transferred to partner Larrabee Music. After the musicians’ deaths, rights were transferred to The Diana R. Spencer Trust and the Hagen Family Trust. They in turn dissolved Larrabee and gave partial ownership of the copyright to the Hagen Children’s Trust and the Hagen Decedent’s Trust.

The lawsuit claims CBS is selling DVDs of the series without licensing the music. According to the complaint, CBS relied on a 1978 agreement between Viacom and Mayberry Enterprises regarding the rights to the series. But that deal doesn’t include DVDs.

“CBS has refused to enter into a new agreement with Plaintiff to permit exploitation of the Topic in additional media or to cease such exploitation,” attorney Neville Johnson said in the complaint. . “To the contrary, Plaintiffs were aware that CBS had licensed the Series to digital services such as iTunes and Amazon for distribution and public performance.”

The heirs are seeking an injunction to prohibit CBS from exploiting the subject matter and are seeking damages for direct and contributory copyright infringement.

CBS declined to comment and said it had not received the complaint.