Licensing Expo Virtual, produced by the Global Licensing Group and industry trade association Licensing International, has announced the finalists shortlisted for the License This! Competition 2021 which has expanded to the North American market for the first time after running for 12 years at Brand Licensing Europe.

License This!, in partnership with InventHelp and sponsored by WestEnd Software, is a global competition culminating at Licensing Expo Virtual, Aug. 24-26.  The competition provides select illustrators, designers, animators and product inventors with the unique opportunity to pitch their concepts in front of a panel of expert judges. The competition finale will be broadcast live during Licensing Expo Virtual on Aug 25.

The finalists are separated into three categories: Character & Animation, Brand & Design and Inventions & Product Innovations.

“The finalist lineup this year is very strong indeed,” says Anna Knight, vice president, licensing, Informa Markets. “We are excited about the opportunities that License This! opens up for creatives and inventors. Many of our former winners have gone on to produce world-class products and licensing campaigns.”

License This! Character & Animation finalists:

License This! Brand & Design finalists

License This! Inventions & Product Innovations finalists – produced in association with InventHelp

The License This! competition’s 2021 judging panel comprises 15 senior executives from every corner of the industry, including Bioworld Merchandising, Boat Rocker Studio, Crayola, FYE, Hallmark, Licensing International, Lisa Mark Associates, Product Counsel, PowerStation Studios and Redbubble, in addition to partner InventHelp and official sponsor WestEnd Software.

“The quality of entries has been extremely high this year, and it has been a privilege to be part of the judging panel,” says Bill Burke, senior vice president, marketing strategy and communications, Licensing International and License This! Judge. “We are looking look forward to an exciting final and crowning the winners.”

This year’s License This! winners will receive one-to-one consultation with members of the judging panel, a free-of-charge turnkey booth at Licensing Expo 2022, one-year Licensing International membership, one-year Products of Change membership and exclusively to the winner of the “Inventions & Product Innovations” category one-to-one consultation with InventHelp.

Register for free for Licensing Expo Virtual to watch the live finale on Aug 25 to see who will be crowned the winners here.