[DustyMoment]

If Paramount owns the rights, why do they say they can't give permission?

Well, not being an attorney, I can only speculate. It probably has to do with the fact that they own the rights to the character Barney Fife and not the image of Don Knotts. Under the circumstances, how the two are separated is beyond me. Fife may have been born as a character in a TV show, but it was Knotts who brought him to life.

[Freedom4US]

That almost makes sense - Knotts or rather his estate owns the rights to his image, but not the character of Barney Fife. Either way, it ought not to be a big deal...