Organized by Informa Markets, Licensing Expo Shanghai (LEC) aims to build efficient business connections between IP owners and agents covering multiple categories including animation, film and television, museums, culture and art, online literature, entertainment, games, publishing, corporate brands, sports and more, with OEMs, ODMs, licensees and retailers.

The Global Licensing Expo is a world-renowned exhibition, which has been successfully organized in many cities including Las Vegas (Licensing Expo Las Vegas), Shanghai (Licensing Expo Shanghai), and London (Brand Licensing Europe). Informa Markets is also the publisher of License Global, the licensing industry’s influential publication.

The Licensing Expo Shanghai (LEC) was successfully held at the Hall 2.1 & Hall 1.1 of the National Convention and Exhibition Center in Shanghai from the 17^th-19^th of July 2024. The licensing expo brought together more than 400 exhibitors and 1800+ IP participants. The site area has been expanded to 48,000 square meters, aiming to promote influential animation figures, film and television, cultural art, network literature, entertainment, games, publishing, corporate brands, sports, and many other IP licensing categories. However, it also targets promoting licensees who are brand owners and agents connecting with OEM, ODM, licensors and retailers.

During the LEC of 2024, several special forums have been held simultaneously, including China Licensing Conference (CLC), China Licensing Industry Seminar, China Licensing Awards, and other major industrial activities. It gather major industrial associations, professional media, and industrial leaders, breaking the cross-industry barriers in communication, allowing discussions on the movement and development of the market, and boosting innovation.

As the market pays greater focus on IP licensing, Licensing Expo Shanghai (LEC) launched a trade matchmaking service, satisfying audiences’ and businesses’ needs for IP matching collaboration, by combining online products with offline exhibitors. The matchmaking service includes features such as “Finding the IP”, business matchmaking, VIP Buyer Program, Specialized Buyer Matchmaking Sessions, etc. This is a platform which allows zero-distance and barrier-free communication and helps brands gain popularity and potentially grow.

Finding IP – online platform

The Finding IP online platform has the main value of providing convenient information retrieval and communication services for IP license owners and those interested in IP licensing. Through filtering categories and keywords, the intended IP can be quickly found and connected to, therefore achieving effective matchmaking between buyers and sellers which boots beneficial cooperation for both.

Matchmaking Service

The matchmaking service offers exhibitors and attendees a one-on-one pre-show meeting scheduling service, aimed at breaking down communication barriers across industries, enhancing interactive experiences, and generating more business opportunities. This service helps facilitate precise and efficient connections between licensors and licensees, significantly boosting the efficiency of both exhibiting and visiting, and ultimately supportingindustry  . In 2024, a total of 24,422 matchmaking sessions were initiated, with 8,006 successfully conducted at the event.

VIP Buyer Program

With the VIP Buyer Program, the organizer team will accompany the OEMs, ODMs, licensees and retailers who demand IP licensing, to visit the expo site. The organizer team will also help visitors in obtaining information about the licensing industry, in learning more about the market, in matching accurately with IP licensors, and in realizing face-to-face talks, thus facilitating effective docking.

Specialized Buyer Matchmaking Sessions

In 2024, LEC successfully organized two specialized buyer matchmaking sessions targeting cultural tourism and food sectors, supported by the Shanghai Tourism Industry Association and the Shanghai Food Association. During these sessions, over twenty prominent buyers held detailed discussions with IP licensors, enabling precise resource matching and fostering of commercial partnerships between IPs and the cultural, food and tourism industries. This initiative created win-win business opportunities for all participants.

The LEC holds other events during the year , such as the “IP Talk” seminars and the “IP+X” matching activities. Inspire Innovations and Empower Licensing.

As a prestigious global exhibition organizer, Informa Markets gathers resources and industry data from 550+ professional exhibitions every year. LEC will leverage Informa Markets’ resources in each brand market area for cross-industry IP linkage and collaborate with other exhibitions to create a more precise transformation of resources with unlimited licensing possibilities. In the future, LEC will integrate more practical resources from the Informa group and provide a platform for trade and business development.

In addition to building a professional matchmaking platform for licensors and licensees during the exhibition, LEC also organizes Matchmaking Seminars and Activities during non-exhibition periods. This is done through offline one-to-one Matchmaking Seminars, in a relaxed and open dialogue setting, allowing for in-depth negotiations and effective cooperation opportunities.

The Licensing Expo Shanghai (LEC) will be held at the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai) Hall 1.1 & Hall 2.1 from July 16 to 18, 2025. The exhibition area will be expanded to 50,000 square meters, with 400+ exhibitors, 1,800+ global IPs, and 70,000+ trade visitors. Showcase your brand with 1,800+ IPs at the global licensing event and extend your brand into new categories & territories. More information: www.thegloballicensinggroup.com