LIMA - Licensing Industry News

08/16/10Secrets of In the Night GardenIt's the kids' TV show that became a global phenomenon. As In the Night Garden makes the leap to the stage, its creator opens his sketchbooks for the first time His hand slaps down on the sketchpad. "Don't read that," says Andrew Davenport, refusing to move his fingers, despite my cajoling. "It's terrible." His hand is covering a short rhyme, written in pencil, that was his very first attempt to devise a song for a shapely piece of blue fluff called Iggle Piggle, who first came to life on these sketchpads three years ago, and who has since all but taken over the world. For the rest of the article please follow the link below;Source: www.guardian.co.uk
08/10/10ADVANSTAR LAUNCHES LICENSE THIS! THE NEXT BIG THING.License This! is BLE’s new licensing challenge. A short-list of four new properties, that display licensing potential, will be pitched by their creators to a panel of experts, chaired by Helen McAleer. Each finalist must persuade the panel of their property’s creative strength and its potential for successful licensing into other product categories. The audience will hear the panel offer critique and advice to each presenter and then select a winner. As well as being exciting, the session will offer valuable expert insight and advice. The winner will receive a fully furnished stand at Brand Licensing Europe 2011 (worth £4500). License This! is open to any new property idea with its roots in publishing, art & design, or television. An application form can be downloaded from the link below. http://www.brandlicensing.eu/wp-content/images/License-This-Form.docSource: www.brandlicensing.eu
06/21/10World Cup 2010: Fans, robbers and a marketing stunt face justice, Fifa styleThe Johannesburg magistrates' court is the sort of unloved municipal building whose corridors smell of damp and bureaucracy, and whose chilly courtrooms recall Bismarck's observation that those who love sausages and believe in justice should never see either being made. Enter this structure at present, however, and you are greeted by large signs proclaiming the "Fifa World Cup Courts", directing you to the courtrooms which have been specially established to deal swiftly with anyone besmirching the good name of this football tournament. Unsure of when the next case is up? Then do take your seat in the "Fifa World Cup Court Waiting Room". If it feels inevitable that football's world governing body should finally have slapped its branding on justice itself, you are strongly urged just to submit. Consider this a little pocket of Zurich in an area of Johannesburg in which Fifa president Sepp Blatter is unlikely ever to dine. Keen to dispel its crime-ridden image before the tournament, South Africa agreed to the establishment of 56 World Cup Courts across the country, staffed by more than 1,500 dedicated personnel, including magistrates, prosecutors, public defenders and interpreters. Intended to dispense speedy justice, they sit late into the night – or rather they twiddle their thumbs late into the night, because a mere 25 cases have been heard at the time of writing. According to the Mail and Guardian newspaper, that clocks in at a competitively priced £160,000 a conviction. The most high-profile cases have been the two Zimbabweans who robbed some foreign journalists on a Wednesday, were arrested on the Thursday, and began 15-year jail sentences on the Friday; and the Dutch women who wore orange dresses to Soccer City stadium and were charged with "ambush marketing" for Bavaria beer. The ladies appeared before Johannesburg magistrates last week – despite their arrest being denounced as "disproportionate" by the Netherlands foreign minister and an embassy official – and were bailed to return on Tuesday on criminal charges which carry a maximum penalty of six months. And the others? "I don't work for Fifa," sighs the clerk at Johannesburg magistrates' court, but he is sufficiently amused by the resources lavished upon the handful of petty cases dealt with so far to produce the relevant charge sheets. LA Law it is not. With the exception of the Dutch causes célèbres, a typical case features a Soweto man who stole two cans of Coke, two mini cans of soda water, and one mini can of lemonade from a Soccer City corporate hospitality lounge. He admitted guilt and paid a fine. Elsewhere, a pair of tourists who assaulted a local were fined £1,350 between them, while another Joburg resident who stole a few bottles of alcohol from Soccer City had his bail opposed and remains in custody, presumably lacking an irate foreign minister to intervene on his behalf. In a country in which many residents feel the wheels of justice turn at a glacial pace, if at all, the speed of the World Cup courts was initially welcomed. But as more details emerge of their cost, and the nature of crimes being tried, some have predictably begun to ask whether time might not be better spent bringing more serious matters to court. For largely petty offences, the harsh sentences being handed down have a distinctly showy quality to them. At the weekend, the National Prosecuting Authority was forced to insist it was possible to mount a fair trial in 24 hours. For all its superficial silliness, though, it is the Dutch case that touches on the most troubling issues. Placed on South Africa's statute book in 2006 was something called the 2010 Fifa World Cup South Africa Special Measures Act. The women in orange are accused of contravening two sections of this law, namely the parts that prohibit "unauthorised commercial activities inside an exclusion zone" and "enter[ing] into a designated area while in unauthorised possession of a commercial object". What is so radical about the legislation, though, is the fact that it makes such activity a criminal rather than civil offence. Not only does this arguably debase what it is to be a crime, but it contravenes rights enshrined in South Africa's constitution. In March, Fifa successfully pursued a low- cost airline for using pictures of footballs, vuvuzelas, and stadiums in its advertising, causing a South African legal expert to voice amazement at the "excesses" of the World Cup legislation, and to lament the choice the government made "to placate Fifa" at the expense of freedom of expression. Fifa praises South Africa for adopting this draconian stance – as well it might. It's all very pour encourager les autres. Yet, when it is pointed out that even the Chinese government stopped short of actually criminalising this kind of marketing intrusion at the Beijing games, a Fifa spokesman declares that similar legislation is in place in New Zealand ready for next year's Rugby World Cup. Does that constitute what questionable newspaper convention demands we style as a "growing trend"? It's certainly not the most enormous stretch to imagine the International Olympic Committee demanding similar laws for London 2012, though one can only hope the coalition would roll over less easily on legislation affecting liberties than New Labour were given to doing. In South Africa, alas, that horse has bolted, and it is difficult not to conclude the government was either browbeaten by Fifa or displayed an effectively unprincipled willingness to please. After all, under pre-existing laws, it would have been possible for Fifa to sue the Dutch beer company for what would amount to a compensatory royalty. With the two offenders threatened with six months jail, however, all Fifa will tell the Guardian is that it is "considering" suing Bavaria. Yet if it truly believes it has suffered economic detriment, then why wouldn't it? It appears that instead of the hassle of launching its own litigation, Fifa would far rather see local law agencies enforce its rapacious will through the criminal courts, at whatever preposterous cost to the host nation.Source: The Guardian
05/28/10Asda acquires Netto UK stores The deal, which is subject to approval from the Office of Fair Trading, gives Asda a significant presence in the competitive small supermarket sector. Last month, the firm announced plans to expand its smaller store format. Netto's no-frills positioning is also close to Asda's focus on value. Asda said in a statement: "Asda's move to acquire all Netto's UK stores is a key strategic building block in satisfying demand for the retailer in a much broader range of communities across the UK, and underlines Asda's commitment to its smaller stores division." The acquisition is good news for the UK's jobs market, as Asda said it planned to double the number of staff currently employed at each of the Netto stores. But until the deal is given regulatory go-ahead, the stores will continue to trade under the existing Netto branding and management. Asda said it plans to rebrand the stores by the summer of 2011. Andy Clarke, Asda's chief executive, said: "Customers will benefit from low prices on a significantly broader range of quality products, complemented by the wide range of services we offer in all our smaller stores." Netto, which has been trading in the UK since 1990, had a 0.7% share of consumer spending at British grocers in the 12 weeks to 18 April 2010, according to Kantar Worldpanel data. Asda's share was 16.9% for the period. Netto is owned by Dansk Supermarked, which said it was focusing on expansion in Northern Europe and Scandinavia.Source: Marketing Magazine
05/25/10Court Makes NFL Play Defense Justices' 9-0 Ruling Says League Isn't Entitled to a Blanket Antitrust ExemptionSource: Wall Street Journal
05/20/10London Olympics 2012: Meet Wenlock and MandevilleIn the end they were neither animal, vegetable nor mineral. Nor, as some cynics had predicted, did they resemble white elephants. Instead, Wenlock and Mandeville, the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic mascots, elicited mostly baffled reactions as to just what they were at their unveiling today. With a metallic finish, a single large eye made out of a camera lens, a London taxi light on their heads and the Olympic rings represented as friendship bracelets on their wrists, they resemble characters dreamed up for a Pixar animation. But London 2012 organisers, for whom the launch of the mascots marks the start of a crucial period in which the games will become public property, pointed to the delighted reaction of a hall full of primary school children at today's launch as evidence that they would connect with their target audience. "They remind you of aliens, which is really weird and cool," said 10-year-old Ali. "It reminds you of the Olympics, which is worldwide so it's something you'll want to remember forever," added 11-year-old Zanyab as they cavorted with life-size mascots for the cameras. The pair are based on a short story by children's author Michael Morpurgo that tells how they were fashioned from droplets of the steel used to build the Olympic stadium. They will be crucial in raising funds and spreading messages about the games. Wenlock, named after the Shropshire town of Much Wenlock that helped inspire Pierre de Coubertin to launch the modern Olympics, and Mandeville, inspired by the Buckinghamshire town of Stoke Mandeville, where the Paralympics were founded, will become very familiar in the next two years. The chairman of the London organising committee of the Olympic games (Locog), Lord Coe, said the mascots were aimed squarely at children and designed with the digital age in mind. He said they had the most positive reaction in workshops to road test them. Among the designs rejected at the start of an open pitch process were anthropomorphic pigeons, an animated tea pot and a Big Ben with arms and legs. Children will be encouraged to interact with the characters, inviting them via Facebook, Twitter and the web to visit their school and, said Coe, inspiring them to take up different sports. "The story itself is very rooted in the nations and regions. Young people will be able to decide where they go, what sports they pick up. There is a real interactivity there, it is a language and a flexibility that is driven by young people," he said. The pair were introduced in an animated film that followed their story from the Bolton steelworks where the frame of the Olympic stadium was made. They will become a range of up to 30 cuddly toys, including versions based on celebrities and sports stars, as well as adorning badges, T-shirts, mugs and more. Organisers hope Wenlock and Mandeville will rank alongside the more fondly remembered mascots, such as Waldi the dachshund from the 1972 Munich games and Misha the bear from the 1980 Moscow Olympics – rather than the much maligned Izzy of Atlanta 1996. "The games have got a few stupendous assets – the mascot, tickets, the volunteers, the torch relay – and you have got to really use those to bring home your key messages," said Locog's chief executive, Paul Deighton. "If you link them together you begin to have a really powerful story that people will respond to." The unveiling of the bold London Olympics logo in 2007 was controversial, with many criticising its graffiti-like design. Organisers, who hired Wolff Olins at a cost of £400,000 to design it, stood firm, arguing that it was supremely adaptable and perfect for the digital age. But they were forced to withdraw a launch film after it emerged that it had the potential to trigger epileptic seizures. The mascots, conceived by London design agency Iris and costing, said Deighton, just "a few thousand pounds", are an important staging post from a financial and marketing point of view. They will pour up to £15m into the coffers of the organising committee via dozens of licensing deals, part of an overall licensing target of £70m to £80m towards Locog's £2bn privately raised budget. In 1984, the Los Angeles games ushered in the money-spinning Olympic era. The event was the first to use its Disney-designed mascot to raise funds, since when they have become a cash cow for organisers. But the story behind the mascots is also designed to help make the Olympics relevant to the whole nation. That will be crucial if organisers are to maintain support for a project that is also costing the public £9.3bn, particularly as cuts in public services begin to bite. After a spell of behind-the-scenes work devoted to raising £700m in sponsorship revenues, Locog is entering a more public phase when everything it does, from the unveiling of the mascot to its ticket pricing policy, will come under scrutiny.Source: The Guardian
05/19/10What’s Up, Doc? New LooneysAsk a first grader to identify Bugs Bunny and the response more likely than not will be a blank stare. Dora, sure. Mickey, alive and kicking. But Porky who? Worried that the low profile of the Looney Tunes cast of characters among children is the start of th-th-th-that’s all folks for the historic cartoon franchise, Warner Brothers is embarking on a five-alarm rescue effort.Source: The New York Times
05/10/10Zynga's Rise Pushes Incumbents To Jump Into Social VideogamesThe rise of social-gaming companies like Zynga Game Network Inc. is sending repercussions through the videogame industry, pushing established players to retool and fight back with similar games of their own.Source: Wall Street Journal
05/10/10Mercedes-Benz: Not Just a Car BrandMercedes-Benz is looking down the road, and it sees a future that extends beyond luxury cars. The company has just launched "Mercedes-Benz Style," a design division that will be broad in its scope.Source: Brandchannel
05/08/10CKX chief's departure could set off bidding war for 'American Idol' parentThe chief executive of the parent company of "American Idol," the top-rated show on television, resigned on Friday and said he was weighing a bid for the entertainment and licensing firm. Robert F.X. Sillerman's departure could trigger a bidding war for CKX Inc., which said last month that it was considering a sale of the company.Source: Los Angeles Times
05/06/10 Media mogul launches Saban BrandsMedia mogul Haim Saban wants to become a brand mogul, too. Saban, who first earned a fortune with "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers" and now is chairman and chief executive of Saban Capital Group, which counts the powerful Spanish-language broadcast network Univision among its holdings, is launching a new company, Saban Brands, and says he is committing $500 million in capital to acquire established entertainment and consumer names.Source: Los Angeles Times
05/03/10It's a Great Franchise, Charlie BrownOne could argue that the most famous Charlie in history is a silent-film actor, a chocolate factory apprentice or even a YouTube kid who can't stop biting his brother. But no one would argue that lovable loser Charlie Brown doesn't deserve to be in the running. Source: Advertising Age
05/03/10Despite Growth, China Remains Fragmented Retail MarketEven with rapid growth over the past several decades, the Chinese retail market remains highly fragmented — the top 100 players still account for only 11 percent of overall retail sales. Source: Stores Magazine
04/28/10 It’s a sad day for Happy Meals in Santa Clara CountyCounty officials vote to ban toys and other promotions that restaurants offer with high-calorie children’s meals. Source: Los Angeles Times
04/27/10Good Grief!!! Iconix, Schulz Heirs to Acquire Snoopy, Charlie BrownSnoopy has a new home. Brand manager Iconix Brand Group Inc. is expected to announce Tuesday that it has acquired the Peanuts brand from E.W. Scripps Co. in partnership with the heirs of Charles Schulz, who created the comic strip featuring Snoopy and his owner, Charlie Brown. Iconix and the Schulz family will pay about $175 million for the brand, with Iconix controlling an 80% share.Source: Wall Street Journal
04/26/10Supreme Court to decide if state can regulate video gamesThe Supreme Court, wading into a thicket of free-speech and children's rights issues, agreed Monday to decide whether California can ban the sale or rental of violent video games to minors. Source: Associated Press (via Washington Post)
04/23/10How Nickelodeon Moved To A One-Brand StrategyFamily values prompted Nickelodeon's move to a one-brand strategy last year after internal research revealed that the first generation of viewers turned into parents. The audience for the 30-year-old brand had grown much larger than the company expected, Pamela Kaufman, chief marketing officer at Nickelodeon/MTVN Kids and Family Group, told attendees at the Forrester Marketing Forum 2010 in Los Angeles Thursday. Source: Marketing Daily
04/21/10Retailers, restaurants offer deals as more of us pinch penniesAmerica has become a nation of penny pinchers. The economic meltdown was the 500-pound catalyst, but even amid signs the economy is picking up, many of us still are pinching away. It's a trend that analysts say reflects a seismic — and perhaps lasting — change in our spending habits, and retailers are responding.Source: USA Today
04/16/10Walmart, ASPCA Launch Facebook Effort Walmart is buddying up with the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, with a special "Lend a Paw" effort on Facebook. The promotion encourages Facebook users to go to Facebook.com/lendapaw and click on the button, triggering a $1 donation (up to $100,000) from Walmart's pet suppliersSource: Marketing Daily
04/14/10Love the Telenovela, Buy the ProductFOR decades, the logo “As seen on TV” has appeared in advertising to indicate that the product in question is promoted in television commercials. Now the logo is taking on another meaning: the product may be incorporated into the plot line of a show. Such inclusion, known as branded entertainment or branded integration, is becoming increasingly popular as marketers seek to counter the ability of viewers to zip through or zap commercials. Now, the Spanish-language broadcast network Telemundo is expanding the concept by signing licensing deals with manufacturers to develop products that can be integrated into programming like telenovelas — the over-the-top, prime-time soap operas that are a staple of Hispanic TV. Source: The New York Times
04/14/10Saints Are NFL's Top SellersWho dat at the top of the NFL merchandise sales list? It’s the New Orleans Saints. Dat’s who.Source: CNBC.com
04/13/10Is Logo Toast The Next Big Thing?Josh Fink built his Pangea Brands business around high-end licensed sports products. But the discovery of a Hello Kitty branded piece of toast in Japan might have changed around how his Boston-based company does business.Source: CNBC.com
04/10/10Taking A Bite Out Of Food LicensingWith the new math left behind in wake of the global economic slowdown, a licensing category whose sales were down just 7% in 2009 can be deemed one to watch. That's at least the case for the surprisingly resilient licensed food and beverage category in the US. Of course, on the kids entertainment side, food and beverage licensing is a bit trickier than other types to negotiate as the spectre of childhood obesity looms over the landscape. Source: KidScreen
04/09/10Kmart CMO on Why Retailers Are Seeing Signs of HopeLayaway was a big hit with consumers when the economy tanked, and it still is. Kmart, which is part of Sears Holding Corp., has observed that consumers use the option—which lets shoppers gradually pay for items they want to purchase—year round. The shift reflects America's increasing focus on value, as well as careful, planned spending, said Kmart chief marketing officer Mark Snyder. Source: Brandweek
04/08/10Carrefour Looks to Get Back in the Driver’s SeatCarrefour is working on new concepts aimed at drawing customers back into its French hypermarketsSource: Stores Magazine
04/05/10Big Money on Butler MerchandiseTwo years ago, 90 percent of all Butler merchandise was sold in its on campus bookstores and items would be ordered once a year. Oh, how times have changed. Source: CNBC.com/Sports Bix with Darren Rovell
04/01/10School? Fashion label? Franklin & Marshall is both PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- To the untrained eye, it would seem that tiny Franklin & Marshall College has a disproportionate number of young alumni in Europe and Japan. But the trendy hipsters sporting seemingly well-worn F&M gear are wearing a fashion statement, not a badge of pride. The "vintage" college apparel is actually very new and stylishly crafted in Italy by the Franklin and Marshall clothing company. The line's look is so popular - think Hollister or Abercrombie & Fitch - that the retailer opened its fifth stand-alone store earlier this month and, this fall, will fund a scholarship at its namesake college west of Philadelphia. "The scholarship is really big news to us," said Barry Bosley, the college's associate vice president for administration. "As they mature as a company, they're doing the right thing and giving back to help support our students." Franklin and Marshall the company was founded by a pair of entrepreneurs in Verona in 1999, more than 200 years after Franklin & Marshall the college was founded in Lancaster by a gift from Benjamin Franklin. Giuseppe Albarelli and Andrea Pensiero were inspired to create their high-end sportswear by an authentically old F&M sweatshirt they found at a secondhand shop in London. They began replicating and improvising on that classic collegiate look, not realizing Franklin & Marshall was an actual U.S. college. But they soon found out. College officials say they first heard of the Italian clothes from surprised F&M students studying abroad. It was a curious phenomenon for the small, selective liberal arts school, which probably is best known in the U.S. for political science professor Terry Madonna, a high-profile national pollster. Then in 2001, country music superstar Tim McGraw wore a Franklin and Marshall wrestling T-shirt in a publicity photo. Disc jockeys started calling the school: Is McGraw an alum? Was he on the wrestling team? Well, no and no - McGraw was wearing one of the Italian designs. So the college sent him some "official" F&M gear and, eventually, sought negotiations with the clothiers. The long-term licensing deal reached in 2003 gives the school a portion of all U.S. sales because it does not own the F&M copyright overseas; Bosley would not disclose the terms of the deal. The apparel was initially carried by Bloomingdale's, but it never gained a foothold stateside and currently does not have a North American distributor, Bosley said. Now, the retailer has stepped up to offer one F&M student a scholarship totaling 100,000 euro ($135,000), roughly covering the four-year undergraduate tuition bill. Company spokeswoman Sara Dainese said the apparel's popularity comes from its look and quality. The line, which includes jeans, shorts, dresses and accessories, can be found at 1,300 international boutiques and stand-alone stores in Rome, Milan, Tokyo, Paris and - as of March 19 - Osaka, Japan. Nearly all the clothes are made in Italy, she said. "We spend more money and give to our customers a very special product," Dainese said. "We want to be a niche. We don't want to be a very big, huge company. (We want to) invest in quality, research and development." F&M senior Anthony Brooks, who wears official college gear as a member of the basketball team, said he doesn't mind the "other" Franklin and Marshall apparel. "It's still pretty nice to know that there's a more fashionable clothing line out there with my school's insignia on it," said Brooks, 21, of Lake Mary, Fla. On a recent evening at the Franklin and Marshall store in the Campo de' Fiori neighborhood of Rome, customers included players from the AS Roma major league soccer team. Midfielder Matteo Brighi, 29, said he likes the store "because it is sporty and young." Teammate Marco Andreolli, 23, said that "it reminds us a bit of the American colleges, the uniforms they wear there." A vacationing Danish couple had no idea of the clothing's origin, but tourist Arthur Heller, 31, from New York City, made the connection immediately. "I saw the name and I said, 'Geez, that's a college in Pennsylvania,'" said Heller. Despite the line's failure to catch on in stores stateside, Bosley noted that U.S. online sales are picking up. The college's main goal has always been to increase its global exposure while protecting its image, he said. "Does it actually draw students to us? Do they come because of the clothes? That would be impossible to tell," Bosley said. "But it does put the name out there internationally." Source: Associated Press
03/31/10Tommy Hilfiger to Take Back Control of China BusinessTommy Hilfiger, in the process of being acquired by Phillips-Van Heusen, reached an agreement with its licensee Dickson Concepts (International) Ltd. to assume direct control of its Chinese wholesale and retail business as of March 1 next year. Source: WWD
03/28/10Global retailers may 'welcome' shift to thrift in Japan: McKinseyConsumers' newfound propensity to shop for discounts and shun luxury goods marks a sea change that may boost foreign retailers in Japan, according to McKinsey & Co.Source: Japan Times
03/23/10Topps Takes Trading-Card Game, Runs With It Michael Eisner may no longer be a power broker in Hollywood but he's become a player in schoolyards around the globe. His winning ticket is Attax, a sports-card game created by Topps Inc., the trading cards and candy company bought three years ago by Mr. Eisner's investment company and other investors, not long after he left Walt Disney Co. as its chief executive.Source: The Wall Street Journal
03/23/10NBA, Adidas Shoot for EuropeMerchandising agreement is a drive for greater overseas revenue—and exposure Source: The Wall Street Journal
03/22/10Walmart Reversal Marks Victory for BrandsRetailer Restores 300 Items to Shelf After Consumers Were 'Aggravated' by LossSource: Advertising Age
03/22/10Penney's and Olympic Gymnast Nastia Liukin Launch Girls' LineJ.C. Penney Co. Inc. and champion Olympic gymnast Nastia Liukin are going for the gold with a full lifestyle collection for girls ages eight to 12, called Supergirl by Nastia. Source: WWD
03/21/10A Supersized Custody Battle Over Marvel SuperheroesWHEN the Walt Disney Company agreed in August to pay $4 billion to acquire Marvel Entertainment, the comic book publisher and movie studio, it snared a company with a library that includes some of the worldâ€™s best-known superheroes, including Spider-Man, the X-Men, the Incredible Hulk and the Fantastic Four. The heirs of Jack Kirby, the legendary artist who co-created numerous Marvel mainstays, were also intrigued by the deal. Mr. Kirbyâ€™s children had long harbored resentments about Marvel, believing they had been denied a share of the lush profits rolling out of the companyâ€™s superheroes franchises. Source: The New York Times
03/19/10America's Most Loved SpokescreaturesFictional characters can boost a brand's appeal for decades (see Tony the Tiger) with no risk of scandal (see Tiger Woods).Source: Forbes.com
03/19/10Wal-Mart Fires Up Marketing for 'Dragon' Extensive Merchandising Partnership With DreamWorks Suggests Precedent for Future Movie Licensing ArrangementsSource: Wall Street Journal
03/15/10Phillips-Van Heusen Acquires Hilfiger for $3 BillionPhillips-Van Heusen, the clothing conglomerate that owns Calvin Klein, announced Monday that it would buy Tommy Hilfiger, once a leading purveyor of colorful preppy clothing, for about 2.2 billion euros, or $3 billion, in cash and stock. Source: The New York Times
03/12/10Disney Narrows Its Movie Focus, Building on Known CharactersAs the business model that propelled Hollywood for more than a decade fades to black, Walt Disney Co. is retooling how its movie studio makes and markets films. Source: Wall Street Journal
03/10/10Madonna, Iconix Form Fashion Joint VentureMadonna and Iconix Brand Group Inc. are ready to cause a commotion and dress you up at retail. The pop icon and the brand management firm reveal the formation of a joint venture called MG Icon LLC, which will bring multiple fashion-related projects to retail racks across America and around the world. Source: WWD
03/03/10Reebok sued over 'Finish Strong' New Orleans Saints T-shirtsThe New Orleans Saints' Super Bowl-winning season has led to a trademark dispute involving the team's unofficial 2009 motto and two manufacturers of athletic wear. In a suit filed in Chicago federal court, Finish Strong claims trademark infringement by Reebok International, which manufactured and marketed a T-shirt using the "Finish Strong" mantra that Saints quarterback Drew Brees adopted during the 2009 NFL season.Source: Associated Press via USA Today
03/01/10Random House Sets Out to Apply Storytelling Skills to VideogamesRandom House, eager to cash in on the lucrative videogame business, has set up an in-house team to create original stories for videogames and provide story advice for games in development. The book publisher, a unit of Germany's Bertelsmann AG, has started looking for a buyer for two original projects, one a fantasy adventure and the other a horror thriller. Each of the proposed games has a cast of characters, suggested stories, and an analysis of the type of gamer in mind. Source: Wall Street Journal
03/01/10Lacroix Brand Signs String of DealsChristian Lacroix SNC, reduced to a licensing operation last December following a bankruptcy filing, is back on the move. Although couture and ready-to-wear operations were shuttered, the Lacroix name will soon enter four new product categoriesSource: WWD
02/27/10Lights, Camera, Calculator! The New Celebrity MathFilm and television producers might want to bring a spreadsheet to their next casting meeting. To help decide which celebrity is the best choice for a film role or product endorsement, entertainment and marketing executives can tap into a host of numbers to gauge public figures' star power. So many, in fact, that the numbers leave a dizzying portrait of who's hot and who's not.Source: Wall Street Journal
02/26/10KIDS LICENSING FORUM fast approaching!Kids Licensing Forum The European Kids & Brands Licensing Event Bologna, 23rd-25th March 2010 Bologna Fair Centre - Hall 31 - Piazza Costituzione Entrance The Kids Licensing Forum becomes a Fair! Organized since the 2008, the Kids Licensing Forum, featuring exhibits of the main licensing agencies/licensors and presentations of the newest in childrenâ€™s licensing, has become the main event based in Italy on licensing business. Following this growing success, the Kids Licensing Forum will be developed in a 3-day event, to be held in the same days of the Bologna Childrenâ€™s Book Fair. Source: Press release
02/24/10Harry Potter plagiarism lawsuit could be billion-dollar case, says claimantPublishers could face legal action worldwide over claims that JK Rowling stole ideas for Harry Potter from a British author's book called The Adventures of Willy the Wizard. The estate of the late Adrian Jacobs yesterday added Rowling as a defendant in a case originally filed in June against Bloomsbury Publishing, Potter's UK publisher, for alleged copyright infringement. Max Markson, a PR executive representing the estate, told the Guardian the addition of Rowling's name to the action opened up the possibility of multi-jurisdiction action. "We believe that she [Rowling] personally plagiarised the Willy the Wizard book. All of Willy the Wizard is in the Goblet of Fire. We now have a case which is not just against Bloomsbury." Markson, who was a friend of Jacobs, said Rowling was added to the lawsuit after it was learned that the statute of limitations to sue her had not run out as previously thought. She is named in the suit under her married name of Joanne Kathleen Murray. "I estimate it's a billion-dollar case," Markson said. "That'll be the decision of the courts, obviously." Rowling denies the claims. "I am saddened that yet another claim has been made that I have taken material from another source to write Harry. The fact is I had never heard of the author or the book before the first accusation by those connected to the author's estate in 2004; I have certainly never read the book," she said in a statement. "The claims that are made are not only unfounded but absurd and I am disappointed that I, and my UK publisher Bloomsbury, are put in a position to have to defend ourselves. We will be applying to the court immediately for a ruling that the claim is without merit and should therefore be dismissed without delay." The suit claims Rowling's book Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire copied substantial parts of Jacobs' 36-page book The Adventures of Willy the Wizard â€“ No 1 Livid Land. The plagiarism claims stem from both Willy and Harry being required to solve a task as part of a contest, which they achieve in a bathroom assisted by clues from helpers. Jacobs' estate also claims that many other ideas from Willy the Wizard were copied into the Potter books. Goblet of Fire was the fourth book in Rowling's series and was published in July 2000. No 1 Livid Land was published in 1987. According to Markson, Jacobs had sought the services of the literary agent Christopher Little, who later became Rowling's agent. Jacobs was a solicitor and accountant who lost heavily in the 1987 stock market crash. He suffered a stroke soon after and was bankrupted for a second time in 1991. He died in a London hospice in 1997, Markson said. "Willy The Wizard is a very insubstantial booklet running to 36 pages which had very limited distribution. The central character of Willy The Wizard is not a young wizard and the book does not revolve around a wizard school," Bloomsbury said last year. "The claim was unable to identify any text in the Harry Potter books which was said to copy Willy the Wizard." Markson said the plagiarism allegation concerned the story plot rather than the words. The Jacobs estate is seeking legal advice on whether the Harry Potter films and soon-to-be-opened Harry Potter theme park breach copyright law. In 2007 Rowling and Warner Bros, which made the Potter films, sued the publishers of the Harry Potter Lexicon, an encyclopaedia of the series. A shortened and modified version of the lexicon was published last year.Source: The Guardian
02/24/10 Malice in Wonderland: Burton's film has become pawn in bitter battle between studios and cinemasWith its red carpet, parking for limousines and baying fans behind crowd barriers, the Odeon Leicester Square has long been the venue of choice for film executives wanting to bring the full glitz of a Hollywood premiere to Britain. Tomorrow evening will be no exception when a host of stars, including Johnny Depp and Anne Hathaway, parade before the cameras for the first showing worldwide of the next would-be 3D blockbuster, Alice in Wonderland. What makes the unveiling of director Tim Burton's latest project unique is that, barring an unlikely last-minute change of heart, the gala showing at the Odeon Leicester Square is the sole occasion on which the multi-million pound film will be seen at any of the 834 screens operated by Britain's largest cinema chain. Odeon & UCI, which operates more than 107 sites in the UK, confirmed yesterday that it is boycotting Alice in Wonderland because of a row with the film's maker, Disney, over how long they will be allowed to show the movie before it is released on DVD. Odeon, whose decision could cost Disney between Â£10m and Â£40m in lost revenue, will not be showing the film in its Irish or Italian cinemas either. It may seem like just a squabble over whether cinemas should be given rights to show a movie for 17 weeks â€“ as Odeon demands â€“ or 12 weeks â€“ as Disney is seeking to achieve. But there is a far more fundamental dispute that goes to the heart of the ability of the Hollywood studios and their $65bn (Â£42bn) industry to make enough money to survive. A mixture of piracy and the economic downturn has reduced DVD sales in Britain by about 10 per cent and in the US by 13 per cent. One studio, MGM, is facing a fall in America from $140m in 2007 to a projected $30.4m for 2010. According to one industry estimate, the global loss in revenue from DVDs to Hollywood could be as much as $14bn by the end of 2010. But with cinema ticket sales booming, does this matter? In Britain last year, admissions grew by almost 10 million to 173.5 million â€“ more than triple the 1984 figure of 54 million â€“ despite prices which can be as much as Â£20 per person in the premium seats of a West End cinema. The problem for Hollywood is that DVD sales make up 50 per cent of income from every film made. Only 20 per cent comes from their share of ticket sales. One UK-based studio source told The Independent: "The industry has allowed itself to become over-reliant on income from DVD sales. When those sales go down, all the red lights start flashing and we need to find new ways of reversing that decline. One key problem in the digital age is to ensure that those DVDs get to the market quicker and, I have to admit, Disney is leading the way. This is a fight we have to win, even if we get a bloodied nose from loss of sales." The result so far has been a split between Britain's cinema operators as Disney seeks to use its 3D flagship Alice in Wonderland, which stars British actors including Burton's partner Helena Bonham Carter and comedian Matt Lucas, to set a new three-month gap between cinema and DVD release for some of its films. While Odeon, which is owned by Terra Firma, a private equity company that also counts troubled EMI among its assets, has gone along with a "gentleman's agreement" between cinemas and studios to set the gap at 17 weeks, Cineworld, the UK's second-largest chain, has struck a deal with Disney to show Alice in Wonderland for 13 weeks. Steve Wiener, the firm's chief executive, said he did not want Cineworld customers to miss out on "such a visual spectacle" after the success of James Cameron's Avatar. Vue, the third-largest operator, is understood to have initially sided with Odeon but last night reached an agreement with Disney to put the film on for "around 13 weeks" from its general release on 5 March. The same debate is being played out across Europe and North America. The four largest cinema chains in the Netherlands are refusing to show Alice in Wonderland while in the US only one of the major "exhibitors", Regal Entertainment, has so far agreed to carry the film. Odeon points out that while the DVD release "window" has dwindled from six months to 17 weeks in the last decade, it has had to spend large sums of money on upgrading to digital technology. The chain is also concerned that if it surrenders to Disney's demands, a 12-week release will become the norm and film-lovers will choose not to go out to see the latest movie, because they know that a DVD version will soon be available. An Odeon spokesman said: "The negative impact on cinema attendance will threaten the continued existence of many cinemas, especially smaller and medium-sized cinemas, which are often important parts of the fabric of communities." Disney says it only wants the 12-week window for two or three films a year. Bob Chapek, the president of distribution for Walt Disney Studios, said: "We think this is in the best interests of theatre owners, because a healthy movie business is good for them and allows us to invest in high-quality, innovative content." Nick James, editor of Sight and Sound magazine, said: "Disney and the other studios are desperate to narrow the window in which pirates can get hold of a film. That is why they are prepared to force the issue with Alice in Wonderland, even if it costs them as much as Â£40m in lost sales in Britain. By their next release they want to have a gap of 12 weeks. The problem is that there is no guarantee the cinema chains will give in." Source: The Independent
02/19/10Disney Invites 'Goths' to the Party Disney, the company that created "the happiest place on earth" and cornered the market on pink, is embracing a darker aesthetic as it reaches out to an unlikely audience for new merchandise: female "goths." In the run-up to the March 5 opening of director Tim Burton's movie "Alice in Wonderland," Walt Disney Co.'s consumer-products division is aiming its marketing firepower at young women and teenage girls, particularly those who gravitate to darkly romantic entertainment like the "Twilight" series. Source: Wall Street Journal
02/12/10DieHard Accessories to be Sold Outside Sears StoresLicensing deal aims to broaden customer baseSource: Chicago Tribune
02/09/10N.C.A.A. Fails to Stop Licensing Lawsuit A district court judge in San Francisco on Monday denied the N.C.A.A.â€™s motion for dismissal in a class-action lawsuit headed by the former U.C.L.A. basketball star Ed Oâ€™Bannon. The ruling leaves the N.C.A.A.â€™s licensing contracts open to discovery. Oâ€™Bannonâ€™s lawyers filed the antitrust suit in July, claiming that former athletes should be compensated for the use of their images and likenesses in television advertisements, video games and on apparel.Source: The New York Times
02/08/10Major League Baseball sues trading card company Upper DeckNEW YORK, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Major League Baseball has sued Upper Deck Co, accusing it of trademark infringement for using its logos on trading cards without permission.Source: Reuters

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