Asian Licensing Association (ALA) Hosted "Hong Kong Licensing Awards 2017 cum Asian Licensing Awards 2017" Awards Presentation Ceremony

HONG KONG, Jan. 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The Awards Presentation Ceremony of "Hong Kong Licensing Awards 2017 ("HKLA 2017") cum Asian Licensing Awards 2017" was held on Jan 9 (Tuesday) at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre ("HKCEC") to present awards to the outstanding local creative and licensing talent as an acknowledgement of their achievement.

HKLA is organised annually by the Asian Licensing Association (ALA), with the continuous support from Create Hong Kong ("CreateHK") of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region  ("HKSAR") as the Sponsor, to acknowledge the outstanding achievement of the leading licensing practitioners in Hong Kong as well as to boost the development of the licensing and creative industries. Its 2017 edition has received 65 applications. After months of rigorous assessments by the judging panel, the winners of five categories were announced at Jan 9's Awards Presentation Ceremony.

The organizer is delighted to have the presence of Ms. Ada LEUNG, JP, Director of Intellectual Property of the HKSAR Government as the ceremony's Guest of Honour; and the Hon MA Fung Kwok, SBS, JP, Member of Legislative Council, and Mr. Victor TSANG, Head of CreateHK as the honourable guests. They and Dr. Toby CHAN, Founding Chairman of Asian Licensing Association and Mr. Danny CHEUNG, Chairman of ALA and the Organizing Committee for the Hong Kong Licensing Awards, and other guests presented the awards and commended the award winners.

Ms. Ada KL Leung, Director of Intellectual Property, highly valued the Awards which are a valuable platform for gathering the licensing practitioners, she said, "The Awards tonight exhibit the remarkable achievements of the licensing industry and connect licensing professionals and creative talents in the Region. It serves as an excellent platform for sharing industry insights, which no doubt will enrich the growth of licensing and creative industries in Hong Kong and in the Region.

Dr. Toby CHAN, Founding Chairman of ALA, spoke on the same occasion that HKLA aims to promote the sustainable development of licensing industry in Hong Kong. "This is the third edition of HKLA. It has been receiving support and active participation from fellow practitioners. Asian Licensing Association is honoured to witness the rapid growth of the licensing industry in these three years. Our outstanding practitioners have made use of licensing schemes to build and market their creative works to the commercial world. Some of them have even successfully promoted their products to overseas market. Through HKLA, we hope to enhance the understanding of the market value of creative brands among practitioners and boost the competitiveness of Hong Kong's licensing industry," said Dr. CHAN.

Mr. Danny CHEUNG, Chairman of the Organizing Committee for HKLA, expressed his gratitude towards CreateHK. He said, "HKLA has been held successively for three years. This activity attributes its success to CreateHK's continuous support and sponsorship. As the Chairman of the organizing committee of HKLA, I am glad to see more and more licensing practitioners and creative talent participating in this award scheme. Creative industry is one of the thriving economic sectors in Hong Kong, therefore we would like to encourage the local artists to make good use of Hong Kong's advantages in this industry to expand in the local market and tap into the overseas market. Together with all the industry practitioners, we pursue the competitiveness and sustainable development of Hong Kong's creative industries."

Five Licensing Awards and Exchange Platform to Facilitate Market Expansion

There are five award categories in HKLA 2017, namely Best Property, Best Licensee, Best Promotion Campaign, Best Young Property, as well as the Best New Character Design for Licensing.            

The following are the lists of Gold Award winners and their awarded properties:

Annex 2 attached are the full winner lists of the five award categories of HKLA 2017.

The Asian Licensing Awards 2017 is also organised by ALA to recognise the outstanding achievements of licensing practitioners throughout Asia. Awards of the five categories of the Asian Licensing Awards 2017, namely Best Property in Asia, Best Licensee, Best Promotion Campaign, Best Young Property and Best Asian Property, were also presented at Jan 9's ceremony. The full winner lists are at Annex 3.

More details of HKLA 2017 and the Asian Licensing Awards 2017 are available at http://www.hklicensingawards.hk and http://www.ala.org.hk.

About Asian Licensing Association

The mission of Asian Licensing Association is to foster the growth and expansion of the licensing, creative and innovative industries by drawing together the experience and expertise of the industry practitioners. The Association aims to co-operate with the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and other statutory bodies to strengthen the licensing, creative and innovative companies, thus enhancing the overall business environment and competitiveness of Hong Kong. The Association also aims to provide guidance to the industry practitioners for making win-win decisions which are favourable to both their members and the general public. Website: www.ala.org.hk/

About Hong Kong Licensing Awards

The Hong Kong Licensing Awards (HKLA) were launched in 2015, and came to the third edition in 2017. There are five award categories in HKLA 2017, namely Best Property, Best Licensee, Best Promotion Campaign, Best Young Property, as well as the Best New Character Design for Licensing, which is open to all Hong Kong designers with less than 9 years of work experience in the design sector and original characters that have never been commercially licensed, with a view to promoting local original designs.

About Create Hong Kong

Create Hong Kong (CreateHK) is a dedicated office set up by the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in June 2009 to spearhead the development of Hong Kong's creative industries. CreateHK has been sponsoring the Hong Kong Licensing Awards since 2015. CreateHK's website: www.createhk.gov.hk

For further information, please visit: www.hklicensingawards.hk

Annex 1

Hong Kong Licensing Awards 2017
     - Dedicated Licensing Award Scheme for Creative Industries in Hong Kong.

Objectives:
     - To recognise the outstanding achievements of licensing professionals and creative talent in making use of licensing schemes to develop and market their creative works to the commercial world;
     - To develop a platform for local and overseas licensing professionals and creative talent to meet together and share industry insights for further facilitating the growth of various local creative sectors; and
     - To facilitate local outstanding licensing professionals and creative talent to expand business connection and enhance market exposure.

Awards Categories:

1.     Best Licensee Award
          - To recognise the Best Local Licensee

2.     Best Property Award
          - To recognise the Best Local Property

3.     Best Promotion Campaign Award
          - To recognise the Best Promotion Campaign of a creative property conducted in Hong Kong.

4.     Best Young Property Award
          - To recognise the Best Local Young Property which has been launched in the market for less than 6 years.

5.     Best New Character Design for Licensing Award
          - To recognise the Best ORIGINAL Character Design with market potential for licensing. 
          - Application is open to all Hong Kong designers with less than 9 years of work experience in design sector
          - The applying new character design must never been commercially licensed before the last date of application period.

Timeline:

Winners' Benefits:
     -       The Gold / Merit Award winners will receive their awards at the high-level Hong Kong Licensing Awards Presentation Ceremony ("Presentation Ceremony");
     -       The Gold / Merit Award winners will have opportunities to explore and establish business collaboration with local and overseas licensees and marketing agents at the Presentation Ceremony;
     -       The Gold Award winners of all award categories will be entitled to publicise/showcase their achievements for free at the HKTDC International Licensing Show in 2018; and
     -       The Gold Award winners of all award categories, except the Best New Character Design for Licensing Award, will be nominated for entering into the Asian Licensing Awards 2017.

Annex 2

"Hong Kong Licensing Awards 2017" Awardees

Best Licensee Award

Best Property Award

Best Promotion Campaign Award

Best Young Property Award

Best New Character Design for Licensing Award

Annex 3

"Asian Licensing Awards 2017" Awardees

Best Licensee Award

Best Property in Asia Award

Best Promotion Campaign Award

Best Young Property Award

Best Asian Property Award