Fly with Hello Kitty

Hello Kitty takes to the skies as revealed in Hello Kitty characters to take flight over Houston. Taiwanese carrier EVA Air next summer will launch nonstop service between Taipei and Bush Intercontinental Airport with a jetliner painted with the iconic Kitty White. Other carriers that have co-branded their planes include Alaska Airlines, with Disney characters such as Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, and Donald Duck; Japan's All Nippon Airways, with the Pokémon franchise; Air New Zealand with a Hobbit theme; and Finn Air, with Angry Birds.

Grumpy Cat's Owners Are Smiling

Grumpy Cat has a plethora of licensed products including a series of best-selling children's books, greeting cards, Friskies cat food, a line of coffee drinks called 'Grumpucchinos', and a featured film. As reported in Grumpy Cat made nearly $100 million? Not quite, owner says, the earnings have been spectacular. What has your cat done for you lately?

See What's Hot in Sports Licensing

The Sports Licensing & Tailgate Show will be held January 14-16 in Las Vegas. The show hosts about 300 exhibitors selling products licensed by more than two dozen sports leagues and licensors. See a description of the show in the article Sports Licensing & Tailgate Show Sizzles.

LIMA and UCLA Offer: 'Licensing Entertainment: Strategies for the Global Marketplace'

The first UCLA dedicated course for licensing professionals is described in the article LIMA launches first licensing focused course with UCLA. The 12 week course will be led by licensing and marketing veteran, Kenneth K. Markman, CEO of KKM Global Brand Strategies. Featured speakers will include Elie Dekel of Saban Brands, George Leon and Greg Economos of Sony Pictures Consumer Products, Henry Stupp from The Cherokee Group and Tim Kilpin from Mattel. The course will be held at UCLA on Tuesday evenings from January 6th to March 24th, 2015.