Society of Product Licensors Committed to Excellence Announces an Inaugural Educational Afternoon Series During The Licensing Academy at BLE

BUFFALO, N.Y., June 9, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- On Tuesday, October 13 & 14, 2015, Society of Product Licensors Committed to Excellence (SPLiCE) will present the SPLiCE Educational Afternoon Series during The Licensing Academy at BLE (Brand Licensing Europe) 2015, 13 - 15 October from 2:15 to 5:00 pm at the Grand Hall, Olympia, London.

Announcing! The first ever SPLiCE Educational Afternoons to take place at BLE (Brand Licensing Europe) in London, 13-15 October 2015. This year we are delighted to be collaborating with Europe's definitive event for the licensing industry by facilitating SPLiCE presentations on Direct to Retail, Social Accountability, and Anti-Counterfeiting. The presentations will be in panel format and moderated by Kimberly Kociencki, SPLiCE CEO. The panels will be 45-minutes each, supported with a brief overview from presenters and followed up with a moderated question and answer.

The SPLiCE presentations form part of BLE's popular Licensing Academy, the three-day educational conference that takes place during BLE. It combines keynotes with "how to" seminars, panels and BLE's own competition (called "License This!") for new IP. All sessions are free to attend.

The SPLiCE panels will take place on:

Tuesday, October 13^th:

2:15 pm Direct to Retail
Featuring brands and retailers including Chupa Chups and Sainsbury's

3:30 pm Social Accountability
Featuring brands and industry thought leadership including Insight Licensing Services

Wednesday, October 14^th:

2:15 pm Anti-Counterfeiting Roundtable
Featuring global experts from the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime, World Customs Organization, World Trademark Review, and 24IP

4:00 pm SPLiCE VIP Reception immediately preceding the roundtable session
Details to follow

For the full BLE Licensing Academy Program and to register and find out more about the show visit www.brandlicensing.eu. For more information, please contact Stefanie Mueller, Engagement Manager, SPLiCE: [email protected]

SPLiCE is a trade organization founded as a best practice think-tank for trademark brand Licensors. SPLiCE was founded in 2004 with the vision to continuously improve brand licensing. Our goal in carrying out our mission is to act responsibly as a community of Licensors who share best practices for protecting, promoting and enhancing brand integrity.

As an active Licensors Community of Best Practice, we engage a kaleidoscope of brand protection knowledge from over 40 industries including aerospace, automotive, consumer products, construction, digital technology, electronics, entertainment & character, farming, fashion, food & beverage, footwear, health & beauty, juvenile products, lifestyle, publishing, racing, sports, sporting goods, toys & games, and trademark brands. Our Members have depth and brand reach within global markets consumer base and there is a strong affiliation for consumers that experience our Members' brands products, services and goods.

SPLiCE benchmarking success is built upon the cornerstones of legal, marketing and quality that support licensing initiatives. As a community, we encourage participation from Members' legal, marketing and quality internal team members to understand a full schematic of the intellectual property realm to protect the brand. Content discussed at our meetings is specific to process as we adhere strictly to antitrust policy guidelines.

SPLiCE Members are composed of business, government, and not-for-profit organizations. 63% of our membership have been a Member for five or more years; 81% have been Member for four or more years. Our over 55-Member companies represent 30% of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and 18% of Interbrand's 2014Top 100 Global Brands. As Licensors, our Members currently have license agreements with over 2,000 licensees with sales of licensed goods exceeding USD$30 billion. 69% of our Members have brands that over 100 years old and 16% are listed within 2013 The Top 100 Most Loved Brands.

In 2015, SPLiCE celebrated 11 years of collaboration as a 501c6 trade association and will produce its 13th annual Member meeting, Licensors Workshop, hosted in Buffalo, New York September 29^th to October 1^st, 2015. The meeting affords Members an opportunity to speak with other Licensors across industry lines interested in brand protection and leveraging best practices via licensing. The overall event is successful due to the participation by Member Licensors who understand the need for protecting their brands from brand dilution through collaborative thought leadership case study presentations. The learning initiative focus embraces business risk management, legal, marketing and quality perspectives. This year the meeting will focus on Internally versus Externally Driven Licensing Programs, Legal Complexities within the Licensing Model, Product Safety and Quality Best Practices, Social Media and feature recaps from SPLiCE Licensors Summit™ and SPLiCE Lounge.

Chairmen
2013-2015: Gayle A. Jones, Head of Licensing, P&G
2011-2013: Scott Bannell, Vice President, Corporate Mgmt & Licensing, Stanley Black & Decker, Inc.
2009-2011: Manuel G. Grace, Associate General Counsel, The Walt Disney Company
2007-2009: Shahab Khosravan, Director, Worldwide Compliance, The Coca-Cola Company
2005-2007: Ed Teter, Vice President of Product Integrity, Fisher-Price, Inc.
2004-2005: Kimberly Kociencki (Billoni), Chairman, SPLiCE

SOURCE Society of Product Licensors Committed to Excellence (SPLiCE)