The suit that Sesame Workshop filed in New York on Thursday (as reported by The Wrap) alleges that The Happytime Murders’ trailer “tarnishes” the Sesame brand because it promoted the movie with the tagline “No Sesame, All Street,” which is deemed an unauthorized use of the Sesame Street mark.
In their mind, the folks over at Sesame Workshop believe that because The Happytime Murders trailer “deliberately confuses” consumers into thinking that Sesame Workshop is associated with or has endorsed this R-rated comedy, the “threat of irreparable injury posed to Sesame’s mark and brand cannot be overstated.”
Sesame Workshop is now seeking a permanent injunction to prevent STXfilms from using its marks to promote The Happytime Murders, as well as unspecified damages.
To be fair, The Happytime Murders is certainly the polar opposite of what Sesame Street is all about, from the cursing to drug use to the lead puppet character getting, shall we say, overexcited in his office while “servicing” a client.