Sesame Workshop is cracking down on companies selling counterfeit consumer products based on its IPs by filing a new trademark infringement lawsuit against third-party sellers on popular e-commerce platforms.

The non-profit organization filed its lawsuit in the Illinois Northern District Court on February 24, claiming that the ongoing sale of unauthorized merchandise featuring its iconic Sesame Street characters is irreparably harming the reputation of the brand with unwitting consumers. Sesame listed several platforms where counterfeit sellers run rampant, including Amazon, Walmart, eBay, Temu and AliExpress, according to the court filings. 

To combat this, Sesame is asking the e-commerce sites to remove all reproductions, copies and imitations of Sesame Street products from their platforms, or pay up to US$150,000 in damages per fraudulent listing. Meanwhile, third-party storefronts found infringing on Sesame’s trademarks will be charged up to US$2 million for each and every unauthorized use of its characters. 

According to the US Patent and Trademark Office, more than US$2 trillion worth of counterfeit goods are sold worldwide each year, ranging from plush toys and bootleg electronics, to fake handbags and faulty home goods.