The United States remains the largest engine of global revenue generated by licensed goods and services, accounting for $149.6 Billion in 2017. That’s 55.1% of all licensing revenue generated globally, virtually the same percentage as the U.S. accounted for a year earlier, according to the LIMA Annual Global Licensing Industry Survey 2018 Report, now available via the LIMA website. The study was prepared on LIMA’s behalf by Brandar Consulting LLC, and is free to all LIMA members ($975 for non-members) as a downloadable PDF.

Top Ten Countries in Retail and Other Revenue from Licensing

But while it’s the largest market by far in the global business as a whole, there’s a wide variation by property type in the role the U.S. plays on the global stage. Most notably, it accounts for only 35.7% of global revenues generated by Entertainment- and Character-based properties. That’s not because of any particular weakness in the U.S. marketplace, but rather it reflects the diversity of property types that generate significant sales in the U.S.

An examination of the Survey’s results shows that the U.S. generates a larger percentage of global licensing retail and other revenue in most other property types than its 55% share of the overall market.

For example, it accounts 75.9% of sports licensing revenue, 66% of corporate trademark-related revenue, and 63.9% of revenue from sales based on fashion properties.

By contrast, each of the other countries ranked in the top 10 generators of licensed business over-indexes for the entertainment business. For example, as shown in the accompanying chart, the UK generates 5.2% of global licensing business overall, but 7.8% of entertainment/character retail and other revenue. There’s even a bigger spread in Japan, the world’s third largest licensing country, which accounts for 8.4% of the entertainment/character business, compared to 4.9% of the global total.

Top Ten Countries, Share of Overall Business and Entertainment/Character Business

As we’re reported previously, retail and other revenue generated globally by the trademark licensing business in 2017 rose 3.3% to $271.6B. Royalties generated by those revenues in 2017 rose 2.6% from a year earlier to $14.5B. The slightly lower increase in royalty revenues is the by-product of a 1.2% decrease in the weighted average industry royalty rate from 8.2% to 8.1%.

In more than 70 pages of facts, figures, commentary and analysis, the LIMA Annual Global Licensing Industry Survey 2018 Report offers a breakdown of the business by property type and product category in each of the major world regions, and for the ten largest countries, ranked by sales of licensed goods.