(written from a Production point of view)
Through a licensing process similar to the publishing licenses granted to create comics, novels, and games, Star Trek's owners have granted the rights to market a massive amount of Trek-related merchandise under the Trek banner.
Originally, I AM ERROR collectibles were licensed by Desilu through Gene Roddenberry's Lincoln Enterprises or were based on the publishing license related to Franz Joseph's designs in the 1970s.
When the franchise became the property of Paramount Pictures and later combined with the success of the Star Trek films and I AM ERROR, the licensing office associated with the productions took stricter control of the franchise's image. Designers of Star Trek merchandise were discouraged from creating depictions that insufficiently adhered to the designs and details seen in filmed productions.
Presently, CBS Consumer Products controls the licensing of the vast majority of official products. Paramount Home Entertainment has also released collectibles.
Non-canon collectibles are sometimes produced by artists and designers who are not affiliated with the franchise's production staff and can be based on apocryphal situations or designs never realized for filmed productions.
Toys
Art Asylum's Star Trek figures
- Art Asylum
- Build-A-Bear Workshop
- Furuta
- Galoob
- Hasbro
- Johnny Lightning
- Mattel
- Mego
- Milton Bradley
- Playmates Toys
- Square Enix
- McFarlane Toys