Graziela Gonçalves and Alexandre Ferreira Lima Abrão, widow and son of the musician and Chorão, who died in 2013, lost the rights to the name of the group Charlie Brown Jr. The National Institute of Intellectual Property (Inpi) has determined that only Peanuts Worldwide, creator of the characters of the dog gang Snoopy and the boy Charlie Brown, can own the name in question. The information was confirmed at Leaf.
Still without success, the musical group had been fighting for the rights to the name since the lifetime of Chorão, who was the lead singer of Charlie Brown Jr., in an attempt to obtain co-ownership with the Peanuts company.
In 2022, Abrão said he finally obtained permission to register the brand with Inpi, but an investigation two years later revealed that the documents of the alleged negotiation had been falsified. At the time, Chorão’s son’s defense claimed he had been the victim of fraud.
Also in 2022, Graziela launched a series of procedures against Abrão for alleged non-compliance with the division of Chorão’s assets. At the time, 45% of the rights to images and products related to the singer were held by his widow, while 55% belonged to his son. According to her, her stepson’s attempt to register the group’s name would have disrespected the sharing. Abram’s defense denies the widow’s accusations.
Today, Chorão’s son is also the target of lawsuits from the group’s co-founding guitarists Marcão Britto and Thiago Castanho, who accuse Abrão of preventing the use of Charlie Brown Jr.’s name in the duo’s concerts and on both artists’ social media accounts. According to Britto and Castanho’s defense, the INPI’s decision favors them both by weakening Abrão’s control over the group’s name.
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