{"id":20713,"date":"2019-08-03T03:00:33","date_gmt":"2019-08-03T03:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/associatednews.us\/content\/2019\/08\/03\/philadelpha-phillies-sue-to-keep-beloved-phanatic-mascot-from-free-agency\/"},"modified":"2019-08-03T03:00:33","modified_gmt":"2019-08-03T03:00:33","slug":"philadelpha-phillies-sue-to-keep-beloved-phanatic-mascot-from-free-agency","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/associatednews.us\/content\/philadelpha-phillies-sue-to-keep-beloved-phanatic-mascot-from-free-agency\/","title":{"rendered":"Philadelpha Phillies Sue To Keep Beloved ‘Phanatic’ Mascot From Free Agency"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Richard Gonzales<\/a><\/span> <\/p>\n

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\n The Phillie Phanatic during a baseball game against between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Colorado Rockies in May in Philadelphia.<\/p>\n

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Laurence Kesterson\/AP<\/p>\n

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Laurence Kesterson\/AP<\/p>\n

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Major League Baseball’s Philadelphia Phillies are suing the creators of “The Phillie Phanatic,” to prevent them from making the green and furry mascot a “free agent,” available to root for and promote other teams.<\/p>\n

The Phanatic debuted at a Phillies game in April 1978 with the help of Harrison and Erickson, Inc., which designed and created it. <\/p>\n

According to a lawsuit<\/a> filed in New York, the firm’s principals, Wayde Harrison and Bonnie Erickson, were paid over $200,000 by the end of 1980. In 1984, after it was clear that the Phanatic was a hit, Harrison and Erickson terminated the original licensing agreement and renegotiated a deal for $215,000. The Phillies say the 1984 agreement gave the team the rights to the mascot forever.<\/p>\n

The 39-page lawsuit says the firm “has threatened to obtain an injunction against the Phillies’ use of the Phanatic and to ‘make the Phanatic a free agent’ if the Club does not renegotiate the 1984 Assignment and pay H\/E millions of dollars.”<\/p>\n

The Phillies claim that the team has a 41-year investment in the mascot and that it is a “co-author of the Phanatic costume” and “author of the Phanatic character.”<\/p>\n