The License This! Competition, produced by the licensing industry’s leading trade show organizer, the Global Licensing Group, and industry trade association, Licensing International, have announced the competition’s 2021 judge panel comprising 18 senior executives from every corner of the industry. Among the companies and licensing agencies represented on the judging committee are 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.

After 12 consecutive years running at Brand Licensing Europe, License This! is now a global competition with this year’s debut in the U.S. market at Licensing Expo Virtual, held Aug. 24-26.

“Industry connection is mission-critical in the licensing sector, and the License This! program provides just that: accessibility to a bench of the world’s most influential licensing executives,” says Anna Knight, vice president, licensing, Informa Markets. “We are so proud of the doors that the program has opened for creatives and inventors over the past 12 years. Many of our former winners have gone on to produce world-class products and licensing campaigns; we love seeing winners and participants return to our annual events as exhibitors to watch.”

The winner receives the following prize:

Submit an entry here to compete to win the opportunity to learn from 18 of the world’s most influential licensing executives; the call for submissions closes July 19. Attendees of Brand Licensing Europe and Licensing Expo Virtual can tune into the live final held on Aug. 25 – register to attend the free event here.

“Combining licensed content with product conceptualization creates new, robust innovation in technologies and play patterns that result in powerful consumer experiences,” says Joe Moll, director, product design, engineering and inventor relations, Crayola and responsible for building an innovative and unique pipeline of Crayola products through cross-functional internal ideation and partnering with the external inventor community. “As a product developer, I am very excited to be a judge at the License This! event this year and look forward to reviewing the innovative entries and learning how we can best bridge the gap between product inventions and licensing opportunities.”

The competition is made up of three different categories:

The Character & Animation and Brand & Design categories are aimed at unlicensed brands and properties looking to use the Licensing Expo Virtual platform to secure a licensing deal or agency representation. The applicants are usually illustrator/publishing/animation focused.

The Inventions & Product Innovation category is about tangible product inventions (that are patented or patent-pending) or innovative product designs that would benefit from licensing, either through in-bound (i.e., putting a character on it to enhance it) or out-bound to a manufacturer (i.e., a wearables item that is licensed by a mass manufacturer from the inventor).

The competition provides select illustrators, designers, animators and product inventors, the opportunity to pitch their concepts in front of a panel of expert judges. This is then broadcast live during Licensing Expo Virtual to an audience of manufacturers, retailers and brand owners.

“With thousands of IPs available and new products launched almost daily, it can be very challenging to stand out in this highly competitive industry,” says Knight. “License This! provides a leg up above the competition and helps you hone your craft from an idea into a successful, marketable product."

To learn more about License This! and to submit an entry, please visit here.