The Licensing Letter

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TLL’s Guide to Traditional Toy/Game-based Properties

This sector includes board games, non-electronic toys, and characters that grow out of such toys and games. If the brand has licensing activity tied to films or television programming, that portion would be included under "Entertainment/Character". Click to view Retail Sales of Licensed Merchandise, Based on Traditional Toy/Game Properties. Representative properties: Bakugan, … [Read more...] about TLL’s Guide to Traditional Toy/Game-based Properties

TLL’s Guide to Trademark/Brand-based Properties

The range of corporate brands with licensing programs is enormous. We break out some of the larger sub-groups, including automotive/vehicle, food/beverage, restaurants, sporting goods, hardware/appliance/tool, home-related, electronics/technology, and electronic media. Retail brands, diet/health brands, luggage brands, and additional brand-based properties are aggregated under … [Read more...] about TLL’s Guide to Trademark/Brand-based Properties

TLL’s Guide to Publishing-based Properties

The publishing sector includes three primary areas: Books, newspapers/magazines, and comic books and strips. Licensing of books is dominated by children’s titles and focuses on children’s book characters. However, there are also specialized imprints for adults such as Rand McNally, Berlitz, and For Dummies, and some adult nonfiction authors have launched licensing efforts as … [Read more...] about TLL’s Guide to Publishing-based Properties

TLL’s Guide to Non-Profit-based Properties

Technically, a non-profit is defined by its status as a charitable institution. However, within that broad categorization, non-profit licensing programs tend to focus on healthcare, environmental/nature, animal rescue, and relief/social service organizations. Some non-profit organizations fall into other licensing sectors; non-profit museums are categorized under “Art” and … [Read more...] about TLL’s Guide to Non-Profit-based Properties

TLL’s Guide to Music-based Properties

Musicians and bands, living and dead, are included in “Music.” Apart from merchandise licensing based on the individual or group name or imagery (the Rolling Stones tongue or the Grateful Dead dancing bears, for example), owners of music copyrights grant authorizations to perform or record music. These uses are outside the scope of consumer products licensing unless the usage … [Read more...] about TLL’s Guide to Music-based Properties

TLL’s Guide to Celebrity-based Properties

This sector includes living actors, actresses, models, chefs, business executives, and others. (Musicians, athletes, and artists are categorized under “Music,” “Sports,” and “Art,” respectively.) While many celebrity-based deals include endorsements and promotional tie-ins, we look exclusively at the product licensing generated by these individuals. However, sometimes … [Read more...] about TLL’s Guide to Celebrity-based Properties

TLL’s Guide to Property Types

Properties that are licensed, or with potential for licensing, come from many sources—from art to celebrities, fashion designers to feature films and television programs, sports leagues and personalities to toys, videogames, and food and beverage brands. Although some properties cross over into several sectors, for the most part they are classified under the property type … [Read more...] about TLL’s Guide to Property Types

TLL’s Guide to Art-Based Properties

Art licensing includes two sub-categories: Art & Artists Fine artists and designers (living and deceased) who create images with products in mind, including textile and surface designers, as well as fine artists who create art for art’s sake, for whom licensing is a secondary concern. The first group accounts for the lion’s share of art licensing; these artists’ work is … [Read more...] about TLL’s Guide to Art-Based Properties