Through a licensing process similar to the publishing licenses granted to create comics, novels, and games, Paramount Pictures has granted the rights to market Star Trek merchandise of various sorts through a number of different production and design companies.
Originally, Star Trek: The Original Series collectibles were licensed by Desilu Studios through Gene Roddenberry's Lincoln Enterprises, or based on the publishing license begun for Franz Joseph's designs in the 1970s. With the transition of ownership when the franchise became the property of Paramount, and the later success of the Star Trek Movies and Star Trek: The Next Generation, a 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 varied from the style and details of the franchise, as seen in filmed productions. Non-canon collectibles are sometimes produced by artists and designers not affiliated with franchise production staff, based on apocryphal situations or designs never mentioned in filmed productions.