Mattel Inc.'s "Barbie of Swan Lake," New Line Cinema's "The Lord of the Rings," Sesame Workshop's "Sesame Street" and Wiggles Pty. Ltd./Hit Entertainment's "The Wiggles" have been nominated as best entertainment brand license of the year by the International Licensing Merchandisers' Assn. (LIMA), the world trade organization for the licensing industry.

The nominees for the 20th annual LIMA Awards were announced Wednesday, and the awards will be handed out June 9 at the annual LIMA Awards Gala at the Sheraton New York Hotel & Towers.

"The annual International Licensing Excellence Awards recognizes those properties and programs that have truly made an impact within the multibillion-dollar worldwide licensing industry," LIMA president Charles Riotto said. "In 20 years, this event has evolved into an exciting evening of prestigious awards, dinner, dancing and networking that showcases the industry's brightest stars and best practices."

Added Carole Francesca, awards committee chair and president of Broad Street Licensing Group: "As the licensing industry has become a more sophisticated business impacting more significantly on retail sales, it's a real challenge to select the very best nominees in each category. In today's highly competitive marketplace, the LIMA awards truly represent the strength and diversity of the licensing industry."

Nominations were solicited from the entire licensing industry. Winners will be chosen by the LIMA membership.

This year, a portion of the ticket sales for the gala will be donated to the Children's Brain Tumor Foundation, which works to improve the treatment, quality of life and long-term outlook for children with brain and spinal cord tumors.

A complete list of nominees follows.

Best Brand License of the Year:
Artlist Collection: The Dog (Artlist International/4Kids Entertainment)
Blue Jean Teddy (Springs Industries/Art Impressions, Inc.)
Franky & Minx (Franky & Minx/Creative Minx & Marketing)
It's Happy Bunny (J.K. Benton Design Studio/CopCorp Licensing)
Best Character Brand License of the Year:
Bratz (Isaac Larion/MGA Entertainment)
Care Bears (American Greetings/The Joester Loria Group)
My Little Pony (Hasbro Properties Group)
SpongeBob SquarePants (Nickelodeon)
Strawberry Shortcake (American Greetings/DIC Entertainment)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Mirage Licensing, Inc./4Kids Entertainment)
Yu-Gi-Oh! (4Kids Entertainment)
Best Character Brand Licensee of the Year - Hard Goods
Fisher-Price (Sesame Street/Hokey Pokey Elmo)
RC2 (Thomas & Friends/Take Along Thomas die-cast train system)
Jakks Pacific, Inc. (NAMCO (Pac-Man)/Plug & Play TV Games)
KidDESIGN (Barbie/The Barbie "Cook With Me" Smart Kitchen
Play Along, Inc. (Care Bears/Sing-Along Friends, Talking Bear w/video, Glow-A-Lot Bear)
Playmates Toys (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles/action figures)
Vivendi Universal Games (The Simpsons/Hit & Run video game)
Best Character Brand Licensee of the Year - Soft Goods
Baby Boom (Care Bears/The Care Bears Sweet Dreams bedding)
Children's Apparel Network (Strawberry Shortcake/apparel)
Disguise, Inc. (Disney Princess/Halloween costumes)
Kids Headquarters (My Little Pony/apparel)
Best Corporate Brand License of the Year:
Discovery Channel (Latin America) (Exim Licensing International)
Lycra (Invista Lycra/MODA International Marketing, Inc.)
Olay (The Procter & Gamble Company/Nancy Bailey & Associates, Inc.)
The Stanley Works (The Stanley Works/The Beanstalk Group)
Best Corporate Brand Licensee of the Year:
Coty, Inc. (Lycra/nail enamel)
The Elite Group, Inc.. (Sunbeam/water coolers)
LaCrosse Technology Limited (The Weather Channel/Wireless Weather Station)
Pharmavite LLC (Olay/Olay Vitamins)
VTech (AT&T/telephones)
Best Entertainment Brand License of the Year:
Barbie of Swan Lake (Mattel, Inc.)
The Lord of the Rings (New Line Cinema)
Sesame Street (Sesame Workshop)
The Wiggles (Wiggles Pty. Ltd./HIT Entertainment)
Best Entertainment Brand Licensee of the Year - Hard Goods
Spin Master Toys (The Wiggles/The Wiggles Musical Guitar)
Thomasville Furniture Industries, Inc. (Humphrey Bogart/furniture collection)
Best Entertainment Brand Licensee of the Year - Soft Goods
Disguise, Inc.(The Hulk Movie/Halloween costumes & accessories)
Global Design Concepts, Inc. (Lizzie McGuire/handbags/backpacks/small leather goods)
ODM (Orange County Choppers/t-shirts)
Rubie's Costume Co., Inc. (Barbie of Swan Lake/costumes)
WestPoint Stevens, Inc. (Lizzie McGuire/bedding & decorative accessories)
Best Sports/Special Events Brand License of the Year:
Major League Baseball (Japan) (Major League Baseball Properties/IMG Licensing)
The Ohio State University National Football Championship Program (Ohio State University)
Rugby World Cup 2003 (IRB (Int'l. Rugby Board)/IMG Licensing)
Best Promotion of the Year:
Barbie Experience at Wal-Mart (Mattel, Inc.)
Barbie of Swan Lake Event at Wal-Mart (Mattel, Inc.)
Barney's Colorful World Stage Show Tour(HIT Entertainment)
Clifford The Big Red Dog and Lipton Soup Secrets (Scholastic Entertainment)
Elmo's Guinness World Record Attempt (Sesame Workshop/Venture Licensing of Canada)
Samsung Electronics DigitAll Matrix Campaign (Warner Bros. Consumer Products)
Sesamstrasse's 30th Anniversary (Sesame Workshop)
SpongeBob Month at Wal-Mart (Nickelodeon)
Yu-Gi-Oh! – General Mills Promotion (4Kids Entertainment)
Best Retailer of the Year:
Claires Accessories (Care Bears)
Hot Topic, Inc. (It's Happy Bunny)
JC Penney (Nick Zone at JC Penney/featuring SpongeBob, Dora, Blues Clues, etc.)
Spencer Gifts LLC(Playboy)
Wal-Mart (mary-kateandashley)
Overall Best License of the Year:
Artlist Collection: The Dog (Artlist International/4Kids Entertainment)
Barbie of Swan Lake (Mattel, Inc.)
Blue Jean Teddy (Springs Industries/Art Impressions, Inc.)
Bratz (Isaac Larion/MGA Entertainment)
Care Bears (American Greetings/The Joester Loria Group)
Discovery Channel (Latin America) (Exim Licensing International)
Franky & Minx (Franky & Minx/Creative Minx & Marketing)
It's Happy Bunny (J.K. Benton Design Studio/COPCorp.)
The Lord of the Rings (New Line Cinema)
Lycra (Invista Lycra/MODA International Marketing, Inc.)
The Ohio State University National Football Championship Program (Ohio State University)
Olay (The Procter & Gamble Company/Nancy Bailey & Associates, Inc.)
Major League Baseball (Japan) (Major League Baseball Properties/IMG Licensing)
My Little Pony (Hasbro Properties Group)
Rugby World Cup 2003 (IRB (Int'l. Rugby Board)/IMG Licensing)
Sesame Street (Sesame Workshop)
SpongeBob SquarePants (Nickelodeon)
The Stanley Works (The Stanley Works/The Beanstalk Group)
Strawberry Shortcake (American Greetings/DIC Entertainment)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Mirage Licensing, Inc./4Kids Entertainment)
The Wiggles (Wiggles Pty. Ltd./HIT Entertainment)
Yu-Gi-Oh! (4Kids Entertainment)