Thank you @davidhohn and @Lee-White for this insightful discussion!
Recently just finished reading Real Artists Donāt Starve by Jeff Goins, which he emphasized the Rule of Ownership with the below example.
In 1962, Jim Henson did a series of commercials for Purina Dog Chow and designed a couple puppets, one of which being āRowlf the dogā.
Henson billed the studio $1,500 for the costs of making the puppets, which Purina offered Henson $100,000 to buy the rights to Rowlf completely. Hensonās agent jumped at the offer; however, Henson refused the offer believing Rowlf had more potential.
A year later, The Jimmy Dean Show gave Rowlf a ten minute segment during each show, which ran until 1966.
In 1976, Henson pitched this crazy idea for a show called Sesame Street, which included none other than the famous Rowlf alongside our green friend, Kermit!
Then in 2000, a German firm buys Muppets for $680 million! The Henson family purchased the Muppets back for $89 million.
Lesson? Maybe think twice before jumping on an offer to sale your characters and/or IP. You never know whatās in store!