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 11 at the Sheraton New York Hotel & Towers.

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

“The International Licensing Excellence Awards are the coveted prize and a recognized symbol of success in the licensing industry" says Charles Riotto, president of LIMA. "Recent years have seen an upsurge in entries from all facets of the industry and the judging metrics have gotten more and more stringent to insure that the ballot represents the best of the best for our industry. This year for the first time, we are happy to be partnering with BRANDWEEK to increase the level of awareness and stature of the awards overall.”

“This year was another banner year for submissions with over 180 entries,” adds Carole Francesca, Awards Committee Chair and President of Broad Street Licensing Group. “The year 2007 was another exciting one for the licensing industry, and the slate of nominees really reflects that.”

Nominations for the LIMA Awards were solicited from the entire licensing industry based on a list of categories and criteria that ultimately determines who the industry honors as leaders in those criteria. Award categories are limited to a maximum of five entries each. Winners are chosen by a vote of the LIMA membership and each one will receive the coveted three-dimensional, etched-glass trophy, sporting the International LIMA logo.

Nominees for the Overall Best Licensing Program of the Year award will be proudly displayed in the Main Aisle at Licensing International Expo 2008. 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 2007.”

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 2008 annual LIMA international Licensing excellence awards:

Best Art Brand Program of the Year

Best Art Brand Licensee of the Year

Best Character Brand Program of the Year

Best Character Brand Licensee of the Year - Hard Goods

Best Character Brand Licensee of the Year - Soft Goods

Best Corporate Brand Program of the Year

Best Corporate Brand Licensee of the Year

Best Film, Television and Entertainment Brand Program of the Year 

Best Film, Television and Entertainment Brand Licensee of the Year - Hard Goods 

Best Film, Television and Entertainment Brand Licensee of the Year - Soft Goods 

Best Sports and Sports-Themed Entertainment Brand Program of the Year 

Best Sports and Sports-Themed Entertainment Brand Licensee of the Year 

Best Licensed Promotion of the Year 

Best Retailer of the Year 

Overall Best Licensed Program 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, trade events and publications. With members in 35 countries, and offices in New York, London, Munich, Tokyo and Shanghai, members enjoy access to a wide variety of activities, information and benefits. LIMA is a proud sponsor of the annual Licensing International Expo (New York), Brand Licensing (London), LiMa Licensing Market (Munich), Day of Licensing (Cologne), Licensing Asia (Tokyo), Shanghai Licensing Pavilion and the Hong Kong Licensing Show. In addition, LIMA offers ways to jump start a career in licensing: the Certificate in Licensing Studies (CLS) program which is the only educational course specifically designed to prepare professionals to succeed in the ever-changing licensing industry, and flip, a subset of LIMA offering support and networking for the Future LIMA Industry Professionals. For more information please visit www.licensing.org.