5 replies to this topic

[plasticfiend]

How does one go about that? For example I saw some very small run Metroid figures on Ebay... But they are fully liscensed. How does one get the rights, and how expensive are they?

I'm not sure if this is he right thread to ask this question but I thought I would try!

PF!

Edited by plasticfiend, 10 April 2014 - 12:43 PM.

[bigazzhead]

Well those metroid figures you're talking about are probably the Zoomoth figures.  They were made in Japan. in Japan there is kind of an amnesty day, or more to the point a dya they grant licenses, where  artists can make pieces of trademarked characters and sell them on that day and not fear legal action. I think the day coincides with the Wonderfestivals. But I'm just kinda cobbling bits of info I've got on it all. I'm in no way an authority.

 

I suppose the best person to ask on the Board would be Dr. Kent.  He went and actually bought the rights to the Mordles and Roboforce so he could reproduce/produce as much as he pleases.

[bachamn]

I suppose the best person to ask on the Board would be Dr. Kent.  He went and actually bought the rights to the Mordles and Roboforce so he could reproduce/produce as much as he pleases.

This might be a good suggestion either way (he surely knows more about it than I do), but I'd imagine the process of gaining permission to use an existing license differs from purchasing a defunct license for the purpose of exclusively producing under said license. 

[PlasticSoul]

Basically you need to contact whatever company owns the rights to what you want to use. Those metroid figures and the castlevania guys and the splatterhouse ones all made by the same small group are fully licensed one day figures. Meaning they contact Konami(in the case of the Simon Belmont figure)and pay a pretty substantial fee so they can sell a particular figure on a particular day. Of course they arrange it so it falls on a festival such as wonderfest so they can make back some money in sales. It is not cheap at all. Plus the odds of getting the rights just because you have the money are still pretty slim. If you do research on Zoomoth you'll see that the guy who sculpts a lot of their stuff has actually worked on character design and art for games like those for the same companies decades ago so i would assume that is one of the reasons they let them do those projects at all.

 

In the end it comes down to having enough money and contacting the right people. It really does depend on what character you want to use 

[Sixthwizard]

I have licensing with many many high schools in America. My company is Rokkitwear. We are the only officially licensed high school apparel company in the USA.

As far as that goes with us, the high schools don't get any payment upfront. They receive 15% on every item sold.

Not sure if it's the same with toy companies.

Need to contact someone and just inquire about it at the company producing whatever it is you wish to have licensing on....

Like PlasticSoul says...

[Stratos]

I've worked on numerous licensed music projects. Each publisher/IP holder is different. Some want a huge payment up front for a licensing period that is either renewable or not. Others want no money up front but a percentage of every sale. The latter is quite common in music (ie royalties) and is a pain in the butt with book keeping.

 

I have contacted several IP holders in the US to release new toys or gaming miniatures based on popular 80s licenses... and none have ever been affordable enough to make them practical. One company required an extensive business plan/proposal and a IP lawyer on retainer. Another requires examples of successful licensing (catch-22 there if you can't afford it in the first place). And two companies said "No" straight up without even discussing $$.