Paws, Inc.,

doing business as A trade name, trading name, or business name is a pseudonym used by companies that do not operate under their registered company name. The term for this type of alternative name is fictitious business name. Registering the fictitious name with ...

Paws, Incorporated, is an American comic studio and

production company A production company, production house or production studio is a studio that creates works in the fields of performing arts, new media art, film, television show, television, radio, comics, interactive arts, video games, websites, music, and video ...

founded by American cartoonist Jim Davis in 1981 to support the ''

Garfield ''Garfield'' is an American comic strip created by Jim Davis (cartoonist), Jim Davis. Originally published locally as ''Jon'' in 1976 (later changed to ''Garfield'' in 1977), then in nationwide Print syndication, syndication from 1978, it chro ...

'' comic strips and its licensing. The company is located inside

Paramount Global Paramount Global (Trade name, d/b/a Paramount) is an American multinational mass media and entertainment Conglomerate (company), conglomerate controlled by National Amusements and Headquarters, headquartered at One Astor Plaza in Times Square, ...

headquarters Headquarters (often referred to as HQ) notes the location where most or all of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. The term is used in a wide variety of situations, including private sector corporations, non-profits, mil ...

building in New York City. It was originally located in Muncie, Indiana, relocated in 1989 from Davis' own farm when he was a boy. In 1994, the company purchased all rights to the classic ''Garfield'' comic strips from 1978 to 1993 from

United Feature Syndicate United Feature Syndicate, Inc. (UFS) is a large American editorial column and comic strip newspaper syndication service based in the United States and established in 1919. Originally part of E. W. Scripps Company, it was part of United Media ( ...

, although United still holds the original black-and-white daily strips and original color Sunday strips. The full-color daily strips and recolored Sunday strips are copyrighted to Paws as they are considered a different product. The strip is currently distributed by

Andrews McMeel Syndication Andrews McMeel Syndication (formerly Universal Uclick) is an American content syndicate which provides syndication in print, online and on mobile devices for a number of lifestyle and opinion columns, comic strips and cartoons and various other ...

(formerly Universal Press Syndicate and Universal Uclick), while rights for the strip remain with Paws, Inc. By 2015, the company employed almost fifty artists and administrators. In 2019, Davis sold Paws, Inc. to Viacom, which would later merge with

CBS Corporation CBS Corporation was an American multinational media company with interests primarily in commercial broadcasting, publishing and television production. It was split from Viacom on December 31, 2005, alongside an entirely new Viacom; both ...

to form ViacomCBS later renamed to

, including global merchandising and existing licensees. The deal put Paws under Paramount's

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (nicknamed Nick) is an American pay television channel and the flagship property of the Nickelodeon Group, a sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on April 1, 1979, as the first ca ...

banner (which itself is part of its Kids & Family division). The deal excluded the rights to the live-action ''Garfield'' films from 2004 to 2006, which are still owned by

20th Century Studios 20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film studio, film production and Film distributor, distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the ...

(which is now a division of

The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was founded on October 16 ...

), as well as the animated film '' The Garfield Movie'', which is owned and distributed by

Sony Pictures Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment studio conglomerate that produces, acquires, and distributes filmed entertainment (theatrical motion pictures, television programs, and rec ...

under its

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., Trade name, doing business as Columbia Pictures, is an American film Production company, production and Film distributor, distribution company that is the flagship unit of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group ...

label. Although Paws, Inc. is now effectively located in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

, Davis still continues to draw the comic strips in Indiana for newspapers and Andrews McMeel Syndication.

Filmography

Television specials

Television series

Feature films

References

1981 establishments in Indiana Publishing companies established in 1981 Comic book publishing companies of the United States Garfield Publishing companies based in New York City American companies established in 1981 Jim Davis (cartoonist) Paramount Global subsidiaries 2019 mergers and acquisitions Nickelodeon {{comics-company-stub