Types of Rights

Chapters

1. 3.1 Media rights: streaming, TV broadcast, home video, theatrical

   Media rights let you show an anime to an audience: online, on TV, on disc, or in a cinema. Each of these is a separate right, and a rights holder can license them to different companies in different countries. When you license media rights, you are buying permission to exhibit specific episodes or films, in specific formats, in a specific place, for a specific time.

   Start →
2. 3.2 Consumer products and merchandise

   Consumer products licensing lets you put anime characters, logos, and artwork on physical goods you make and sell: apparel, figures, stationery, home goods, and more. It is the most common entry point for new licensees. You pay the rights holder a royalty on sales, and every product goes through an approval process before it reaches shelves.

   Start →
3. 3.3 Publishing rights: manga, art books, translations

   Publishing rights cover printed and digital books: translated manga, light novels, art books, and similar titles. These rights usually belong to the original Japanese publisher, not the anime production committee. If you want to publish, you typically deal directly with the publisher or its licensing representative.

   Start →
4. 3.4 Games and digital

   Games and digital rights let you use an anime property in video games, mobile apps, and other interactive or digital products. These are among the most complex and high-stakes licenses, because development is expensive and licensors care a lot about how their characters behave and speak.

   Start →
5. 3.5 Music rights: OP/ED themes, soundtracks, sync

   Anime music, including opening (OP) and ending (ED) themes and background scores, is often owned separately from the anime itself. Licensing a show does not automatically let you use its songs elsewhere. Music usually involves different owners and a separate approval.

   Start →
6. 3.6 Collaborations and promotions: F&B, fashion, brand tie-ins

   A collaboration pairs an anime property with an existing brand for a limited-time campaign: a snack with character packaging, a sneaker drop, a restaurant menu tie-in. In Japan these are simply called _korabo_ (コラボ). Collaborations are about marketing and buzz as much as product sales, and the deal structure often reflects that.

   Start →
7. 3.7 Live and location-based: events, pop-ups, cafés, exhibitions

   Live and location-based licenses let you create physical experiences around an anime property: pop-up shops, themed cafés, exhibitions, screenings, and fan events. These deals combine space, timing, merchandise, and food, so they touch many kinds of rights at once.

   Start →