Short answers, pulled from the story.
Brand licensing is the process of renting or leasing an intangible asset, such as a name, character, song, or brand, to another company for use on its products. A licensing agreement specifies the permitted territory, duration, and product categories. The licensee pays royalties, calculated by multiplying a royalty rate by net sales.
Beatrix Potter created the world's first licensed character in 1903 by patenting a soft toy of Peter Rabbit, the same year as the first public edition of The Tale of Peter Rabbit. Merchandise based on Potter's characters has been sold at Harrods in London since at least 1910.
Brand licensing allows companies to earn royalties on net sales without spending millions of dollars to build a new brand from scratch. Licensees benefit from the marketing power of a recognized brand, which helps them enter new markets and meet sales targets faster.
Global licensed merchandise sales reached $272.2 billion in 2016, up from $262.2 billion in 2015, according to the International Licensing Industry Merchandisers' Association. Disney Consumer Products was the leading licensor in 2017, with $53 billion in retail sales of licensed merchandise.
Branded perfumes and cosmetics are frequently produced under license in the fashion industry. L'Oreal Group holds the fragrance and beauty licenses for Yves Saint Laurent, Giorgio Armani, Valentino, Prada, and Ralph Lauren, among others.
Brand licensing in South Korea was transformed in 1983 when Dooly the Little Dinosaur appeared in Bomulsum, a monthly children's magazine, ending decades of American and Japanese character dominance. Creator Kim Soo-jung established Dooly World in 1995, and in the 30 years following the character's launch, its related market generated 2-3 billion won per year, roughly 1.7-2.7 million dollars as of July 2018.