SANJIESAN LICENSING / Project scope
Turn “we want to use the character” into a usable request
A promising collaboration can stall because the request describes enthusiasm rather than a deliverable. Before discussing creative treatment, make a use map: what will carry the image, who will see it and how the material will move. The following is a briefing method, not a licence form.
Draw the surfaces before the campaign slogan
Take a hypothetical desk accessory launch. List the object, its retail box, an instruction insert, the online listing and the launch photograph separately. Do not hide those five uses inside the word merchandise. Put a small sketch next to each row, showing the proposed placement and whether the character is cropped, combined with text or shown beside another brand mark.
Separate questions the owner needs to answer
For every row, record the planned audience, sales channel and whether a supplier needs access to the file. Mark open questions in ordinary language: may the pose be adapted, may the image appear in a paid advertisement, and may a retailer reuse the supplied photograph? The Hong Kong IP Department explains that a licence records parties’ rights and duties. Specific questions help the appropriate people settle that scope.
Keep the answer beside the requested use
When an answer arrives, attach it to the relevant row and preserve the version of the sketch that was considered. An approval for packaging should not be copied across to an advertisement merely because both show the same character. Before production, have the responsible commercial and legal reviewers reconcile the map with the final documents for the actual markets involved.