Sesame Street owner sues online sellers over counterfeits

Sesame Workshop – the company behind the Sesame Street brand – has filed a lawsuit against sellers on e-commerce platforms that are selling counterfeit products infringing its trademarks.

The suit – which refers to "fully interactive e-commerce stores" on platforms like AliExpress, Amazon, eBay, eCRATER, MadeInChina, Temu, and Walmart – claim that the defendants have tapped into the enormous customer and fan base for the children's programme by selling merchandise bearing the Sesame Street trademarks and those covering beloved characters like Elmo, Big Bird, and the Cookie Monster.

More than 50 years since it first aired in 1969, Sesame Street remains one of the most popular children's shows, with around 15m viewers every month in the US across broadcast and streaming platforms.

It also accuses the online platforms of not doing enough to verify and confirm the identities of sellers – allowing them to routinely use false or inaccurate names and addresses when registering – and asks them to "disable and cease displaying any advertisements used by or associated with defendants in connection with the sale of counterfeit and infringing goods."

Sesame Workshop has licensing deals in place with authorised groups, including PBS, Carters, Hanna Andersson, Hot Topic, Macy's, and Target which sell a variety of Sesame Street branded products, including clothing, accessories such as backpacks and hats, books, drinkware, pillows and pillowcases, and toys including plushies.

The complaint goes on to say that the e-commerce storefronts are designed so that they appear to unknowing consumers to be authorised online retailers, outlet stores, or wholesalers, and their owners regularly register or acquire new seller aliases so they can continue to operate if they are taken down.

The lawsuit claims trademark infringement and counterfeiting, false designation of origin and copyright infringement and is seeking an injunction on the defendants' activities as well as damages of $2m for each and every use of the Sesame Street trademarks and $150,000 per infringed work.

Photo by Jason Moyer on Unsplash