> Sesame Street must have received a significant amount of public funding over the years
You'd be surprised by how little it is. Most pbs and ctw funds are derived through nonprofit foundations and "viewers like you" (and corporate sponsorship), NPR likewise has relatively little government funding. A good chunk of what does wind up coming from government gets earmarked for things like rural media access.
While it's not zero, lots of things like science research, military weapons, get a much much bigger relative slice of their r&d funds from the public purse and still get to keep their IP.
You'd be surprised by how little it is. Most pbs and ctw funds are derived through nonprofit foundations and "viewers like you" (and corporate sponsorship), NPR likewise has relatively little government funding. A good chunk of what does wind up coming from government gets earmarked for things like rural media access.
While it's not zero, lots of things like science research, military weapons, get a much much bigger relative slice of their r&d funds from the public purse and still get to keep their IP.