The International Licensing Industry Merchandisers’ Association (LIMA) today announced the nominees for the Annual LIMA International Licensing Excellence Awards, recognizing the industry’s most impressive and successful licensed properties and products from the past year. The Awards will be presented in seven categories at the industry’s most prestigious event, the annual LIMA Gala and Awards Ceremony, on June 20 at the New York Marriott Marquis in Times Square.

Licenses from around the world will be honored in the following seven categories: Art, Character, Corporate, Film, Television & Entertainment, Retailer, and Promotions, as well as the Overall Best License of the Year. In addition to acknowledging the Best Property of the year within each category, awards will be presented for the Best Licensee Hard Goods and Best Licensee Soft Goods.

“In recent years, the number of entries received for consideration in the International Licensing Excellence Awards has increased dramatically, particularly in the Corporate category," says Charles Riotto, president of LIMA. "This response is indicative of the importance and prestige that the licensing industry continues to place on the LIMA Awards. We’re anticipating that this year’s Gala will once again sell out quickly.”

“With over 160 entries, we saw another record year for the number of submissions the committee had to review,” adds Peter Van Raalte, Awards Committee chair and senior vice president of The Joester Loria Group. “It was an exciting and innovative year for the licensing industry, and our lineup of nominees underscores the most noteworthy of those properties and programs for 2006.”

For this year’s Awards, LIMA revised the process by which nominated properties and products are reviewed and evaluated, resulting in a more measurable system that is fair to all nominees. Nominations were solicited from the entire licensing industry based on a list of categories and criteria that will ultimately determine the industry’s tribute to its leaders in creativity and achievement. Award categories are limited to a maximum of five entries each, except for the Overall License of the Year which is limited to 10 nominees. Winners will be chosen by the LIMA membership and will each receive the coveted three-dimensional, etched-glass trophy, sporting the International LIMA logo.

This year, for the first time at Licensing International 2007, all nominees for the overall property of the year in each category will be on display at the show. Attendees at the show will be able to see up close all those brands and properties that have been singled out as “The best of the best for 2006.”

Each year LIMA donates a portion of the ticket sales from the annual LIMA Awards Gala to a charity which supports and enriches the lives of children. LIMA’s charity of choice is the Children’s Brain Tumor Foundation, which works to improve the treatment, quality of life, and long-term outlook for children who are battling brain and spinal cord tumors.

Nominees: the 2007 annual LIMA

International licensing excellence awards

Best art brand license of the year

Best art brand licensee of the year

Best character brand license of the year

Best character brand licensee of the year - hard goods

Best character brand licensee of the year - soft goods

Best corporate brand license of the year

Best corporate brand licensee of the year - hard goods

Best corporate brand licensee of the year - soft goods

Best film, television & entertainment brand license of the year

Best film, television & entertainment brand licensee of the year - hard goods

Best film, television & entertainment brand licensee of the year - soft goods

Best sports brand licensee of the year

Best promotion of the year

Best retailer of the year

Overall best license of the year

Founded in 1985, LIMA is the worldwide trade organization for the licensing industry. LIMA’s main objective is to work together with licensors and licensees for the advancement of professionalism in licensing through research, national and international seminars and trade events as well as publications. With members in 25 countries, and offices in New York, London, Munich and Tokyo, members enjoy access to a wide variety of activities, information and benefits. LIMA is a proud sponsor of the annual Licensing International Show (New York), Brand Licensing (London), Licensing Forum (Munich) and Licensing Asia (Tokyo). In addition, LIMA now offers a Certificate in Licensing Studies (CLS) program, the only educational course specifically designed to prepare licensing professionals to succeed in the ever-changing licensing industry. For more information please visit www.licensing.org.