A look at Sesame Place in Middletown. (Photo: USA Today Network)
Bucks County could say goodbye to Sesame Place in Middletown after the theme park owner SeaWorld was sued by Sesame Workshop to end their relationship over money.
Reuters news service has reported that the lawsuit results from a disagreement over royalties that the theme park operator owes to Sesame Workshop, which owns the rights to Elmo, Cookie Monster and Big Bird, among many other characters in the beloved children’s television show.
Sesame Place opened in 1980 outside of the Oxford Valley Mall and has been a major draw to Bucks County for the past 46 years. It just opened for the season this month. Millions have visited during that time and thousands have been employed over the years.
On March 12, Reuters reported that the lawsuit was filed in Manhattan federal court in New York, a unit of United Parks & Resorts “has been its exclusive U.S. theme park licensee for 45 years, opening several ‘Sesame Street’-themed parks and attractions around the country, including in Middletown.”
“We are aware of the lawsuit filed by Sesame Workshop and look forward to setting the record straight in court,” said spokeswoman AnneMarie Iturrizaga in an email Monday afternoon.
Sesame Workshop said SeaWorld has “for few years ignored the most recent licensing agreement, which dates from 2017, including by withholding royalties and closing sites, including the temporary closure of Sesame Place San Diego,” Reuters reported.
Things became worse in September, the news service said, “after SeaWorld stopped paying royalties to Sesame Workshop altogether, and as a pretext to end the relationship made the ‘preposterous’ accusation that the New York-based nonprofit failed to invest in its own brand.”
“SeaWorld’s rogue, retaliatory actions pose an imminent threat” to Sesame Workshop by tarnishing its reputation, using its intellectual property without permission and “disappointing children and families” who hoped to visit the closed sites, the complaint said, according to Reuters.
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