Editing Merchandising (section)

==Licensing==
[[File:A merchandise's licensing disclaimer.jpg|thumb|A merchandise's licensing disclaimer printed on the back of a [[Hot Wheels]] packaging]]
In [[marketing]], one of the definitions of merchandising is the practice in which the brand or image from one product or service is used to sell another. [[Trademark]]ed brand names, logos, or character images are licensed to manufacturers of products such as toys or clothing, which then make items in or emblazoned with the image of the license, hoping they'll sell better than the same item with no such image.<ref name="CoffinLogo">[https://abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory?id=2582549 ABC News: Coffins bearing baseball team logos.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090330050323/http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory?id=2582549 |date=2009-03-30 }} (accessed 2007-01-06)</ref>  For the owners of the IP ([[intellectual property]]) in question, merchandising is a very popular source of revenue, due to the low cost of letting a third party manufacture the merchandise, while the IP owners collect the merchandising (royalty) fees.

In 1903, a year after publishing ''[[The Tale of Peter Rabbit]]'', English author [[Beatrix Potter]] created the first [[Peter Rabbit]] [[soft toy]] and registered him at the [[Intellectual Property Office (United Kingdom)|Patent Office]] in London, making Peter the oldest licensed fictional character.<ref name="Times">{{cite news |title=Peter Rabbit blazed a trail still well trod |url=https://www.thetimes.com/culture/books/article/peter-rabbit-blazed-a-trail-still-well-trod-c9zdfx2c6nk |access-date=6 October 2022 |work=The Times |archive-date=6 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221006143043/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/peter-rabbit-blazed-a-trail-still-well-trod-c9zdfx2c6nk |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Smithsonian">{{cite news |title=How Beatrix Potter Invented Character Merchandising |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/how-beatrix-potter-invented-character-merchandising-180961979/ |access-date=6 October 2022 |work=Smithsonian |archive-date=6 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221006132101/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/how-beatrix-potter-invented-character-merchandising-180961979/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Erica Wagner of ''[[The Times]]'' states, "Beatrix Potter was the first to recognise that content—as we now call the stuff that makes up a book or a film—was only the beginning. In 1903, Peter hopped outside his pages to become a patented soft toy, which gave him the distinction of being not only Mr. McGregor‘s mortal enemy, but also becoming the first licensed character".<ref name="Times"/>