Latest news with #licensing
Forbes
a day ago
- Business
- Forbes
Hello Kitty Founder Regains Spot Among Japan's Richest As Shares Of Sanrio Soar
Shintaro Tsuji. This story is part of Forbes' coverage of Japan's Richest 2025. See the full list here. Sanrio, the 64-year-old company behind the iconic Hello Kitty brand, is thriving once again with a modern makeover. Shares have more than doubled in the past year, returning Shintaro Tsuji, its 97-year-old founder and honorary chairman, to the ranks of Japan's richest after a ten-year gap. ss Scripting Sanrio's revival in recent years is president and CEO Tomokuni Tsuji, the founder's grandson, who took charge in 2020 when Shintaro stepped down after six decades at the helm. The 36-year-old has been training his sights beyond Hello Kitty to the company's portfolio of more than 450 characters, such as Cinnamoroll, a white puppy whose tail resembles a cinnamon roll. Sanrio has also lately expanded from selling merchandise to offering content such as games, animated shows and educational entertainment. The moves have paid off. Net profit for the year ended March surged 137% year-on-year to ¥41.7 billion ($293 million) on sales that were up 45% to ¥144.9 billion, powered mainly by Sanrio's fast-growing global licensing business.
Bloomberg
2 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Record Labels in Talks to License Music to AI Firms Udio, Suno
Major music companies are in talks to license their work to artificial intelligence startups Udio and Suno, deals that would establish a framework for how AI companies compensate recording artists for their work, according to people familiar with the discussions. Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group and Sony Music Entertainment are pushing to collect license fees for their work and also receive a small amount of equity in Suno and Udio, two leaders among a crop of companies that use generative AI to help make music. Any deal would help settle lawsuits between the two sides, said the people, who declined to be identified because the talks could fall apart.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Private security firm hit with record fine for violating Minnesota licensing laws
Private security firm hit with record fine for violating Minnesota licensing laws originally appeared on Bring Me The News. A private security company paid the state of Minnesota a record fine — more than $130,000 — for failing to renew its licensing. On Friday, the Minnesota Board of Private Detectives and Protective Agent Services announced it had entered into an agreement with Unifi Security LLC. According to the settlement, Unifi failed to submit the proper renewal paperwork and allowed their license to enter into a lapsed status, meaning they could no longer legally provide security services in the state. But an investigation by the board found that Unifi had continued to provide security services without a license. The company also reportedly failed to conduct proper background checks on multiple prospective employees and provide required training to current employees. As part of the settlement, Unifi waived its right to a contested case hearing and paid the state a $132,440 fine. The fine represents 'one of the largest, if not the largest' ever paid for violating state licensing laws, according to Board Chair Rick Hodsdon. 'While we very much appreciate the willingness of Unifi to admit its mistakes and take this corrective action, considering the vital role that private security plays in modern public safety, it is critical that all license holders of all sizes comply with our legal requirements,' Hodsdon said in a statement. Unifi's license revocation was stayed as part of the settlement. This story was originally reported by Bring Me The News on Jun 1, 2025, where it first appeared.
South China Morning Post
5 days ago
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Chinese biotech's mega drug-licensing deals with multinationals surge on cost savings
A potential multibillion-dollar deal unveiled on Friday by CSPC Pharmaceutical Group is the latest in a growing number of agreements by Chinese biotechnology firms to license development rights for innovative medicines to global pharmaceutical firms, according to lawyers advising the companies. Advertisement Many of these deals use a so-called newco structure, which combines traditional intellectual property licensing with fundraising via a newly established corporate vehicle, said the Shanghai-based partners of San Francisco-based international law firm Morrison Foerster. 'Last year we saw at least seven newco deals,' managing partner Sun Chuan said. 'So far this year we have already identified five deals, and more are under discussion.' The broader trend of Chinese biotech firms licensing their intellectual property – as an alternative to raising funds by selling shares amid depressed valuations – was also continuing, with both the number of deals so far this year and their value exceeding the same period a year earlier, he said. On CSPC, based in Shijiazhuang in northern China's Hebei province, said it was in talks with unnamed parties on licensing development and marketing rights for its drug candidates including a targeted cancer therapy. Advertisement Potential payments to CSPC on each candidate could add up to US$5 billion, the company said. CSPC shares surged as much as 12.3 per cent on Friday.
CNA
5 days ago
- Business
- CNA
New York Times partners with Amazon for first AI licensing deal
The New York Times is allowing to use its editorial content for artificial intelligence products such as Alexa, marking the publisher's first licensing deal tied to generative AI. The multi-year agreement lets Amazon use news articles from The Times and content from NYT Cooking and sports website The Athletic, the publisher said on Thursday, without disclosing the financial terms of the deal. "This will include real-time display of summaries and short excerpts of Times content within Amazon products and services, such as Alexa, and training Amazon's proprietary foundation models," NYT said. The deal comes as AI companies strive to overcome difficulties in improving their large-language models after exhausting all the easily accessible data in the world. Many, including ChatGPT-owner OpenAI, are also facing lawsuits related to data usage. In 2023, The Times sued Microsoft and OpenAI for copyright infringement, accusing them of using millions of the newspaper's articles without permission to help train chatbots to provide information to readers. NYT recorded $4.4 million in pretax litigation costs in its first quarter related to the copyright lawsuit. Sam Altman-led OpenAI in 2023 said it was looking to partner up for access to public and private datasets for training artificial AI models. It has since signed agreements with the Financial Times, Business Insider-owner Axel Springer, France's Le Monde, Spain's Prisa Media and Time magazine. Reuters licensed its articles to Meta Platforms in 2024. NYT's deal with Amazon "creates a valuable opportunity to market the Times to people who do not yet subscribe", Emarketer analyst Max Willens said.
