NFTs remain one of the hottest areas of interest in licensing, with announcements of deals across property types coming out daily. This month, however, a number of more negative news stories have popped up about NFT programs, including several involving licensed properties. NFTs remain an enticing, brand-new sector for IP owners to explore in their […]
Tag Archives | Microsoft
Game Play
Three leading toy companies recently signed renewals of existing licensing deals tied to mainstream video game properties, or otherwise expanded their current assortments. This is a reminder of how the toy-licensing landscape has changed over time from almost entirely TV- and film-based to an environment where video games, one of today’s major leisure-time activities, play […]
Take a Seat
Gaming chairs represent one niche of the interactive-gaming peripherals and accessories segment that has seen strong interest from the licensing community. Billed as enhancing performance as well as comfort during game play, game chairs were first associated with esports-, gaming-, and gaming influencer-related IP, which still comprise the core of the market. But licensing activity […]
Influencer Accountability
Several high-profile influencers involved in licensing and collaborations have faced a backlash—in most cases with negative ramifications for their businesses—in the last month, due to past or present racist content: Shane Dawson posted a 20-minute video apologizing for using racist language and stereotypes, as well as blackface, along with other content such as jokes about […]
Building a Case for Blockchain
Blockchain is a decentralized ledger—essentially a database—for securely tracking and storing a string of sequential information. It offers the ability to create a transparent, tamper-proof, and trustworthy record of ownership, value, chain of custody, authenticity, and other attributes of an individual product over time, from raw materials through sale and resale. Pilots based on blockchain […]
Giving Voice to Smart Electronics
One of the biggest topics of conversation at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas was the prominence of voice assistants such as Amazon’s Alexa, Google’s Assistant, Apple’s Siri, Samsung’s Bixby, Roku’s Entertainment Assistant, and Microsoft’s Cortana. Not only are such voice assistants associated with smart speakers (e.g., Amazon’s Echo or Google’s Home), which […]