September 13, 2001-Vol33n3: Q&A

Ruth Fink is director of the Office of Trademarks and Licensing.

Fink

What is the Office of Trademarks and Licensing?

UB Trademarks and Licensing is a support office in the Business Services unit of University Services. The office developed the first trademark licensing program in the SUNY system and services a wide range of constituencies. Our clients include businesses that wish to supply products displaying campus-associated names and markings for campus use, resale or use in promotions. Approved licensed products range from your typical t-shirts and coffee mugs, to golf divots, banners and baby rompers. Campus customers include campus units and organizations that wish to obtain products that they custom design using campus names and marks. For example, the College of Arts and Sciences may wish to give a portfolio imprinted with an image of Baird Point as a gift to conference attendees. We would review the proposed artwork, make sure that the trademark rights are transferred to UB if original art is used, assist in identifying a supplier and make sure the proper licensing is completed using the licensing contract and trademark provisions required by state and federal trademark law. We maintain the legal and business records on our licensed companies, including licensing contracts as well as corporate, financial and insurance data, listings of approved products, and trademark-use files. In addition to overseeing licensing, we process requests for adding products throughout the year and conduct annual license renewals to ensure that our data remains current.

Why is it so important to protect the UB trademark?

Today, "branding" has become a strategic management tool used by universities and colleges across the country. Collegiate trade names and trademarks are valuable assets of a brand and are considered part of an institution's intellectual property. The campus trade names and trademarks include names, logos, slogans, graphic depictions or markings referring to the university in general or any of its departments, organizations or affiliated entities. And just like a Disney™ or NFL Properties™, it is in the best interest of the university to protect its trademark rights and help ensure that campus names and marks appear on quality products and are used appropriately. If infringement of university marks is encountered, UB Trademarks and Licensing provides relevant data to SUNY Legal Counsel and other appropriate agencies to resolve the matter. It's a team effort.

How much money does UB make from its licensing agreements each year ?

We want to make it easy to comply with trademark licensing requirements. So licensing fees and royalty rates have remained low to promote access to the program by small and large businesses. In addition, several years ago the university recognized that good customer service would be provided if companies could be granted an exemption from standard royalties if they supplied collegiate products to campus units and organizations that would not be resold or used commercially. So the Single-Order Trademark License process was developed. While the required trademark provisions are maintained, no fees are charged to the licensed companies and the licensing process is expedited. For these reasons, and since our athletic program does not yet have the impact nationally of a Notre Dame or USC, the sale of UB merchandise has limited revenue-generating distribution channels.

What is the 4-SUNY Campus Trademark Licensing Consortium?

Building upon the success of the UB program, in 1995 the consortium was formed to provide centralized trademark licensing to the SUNY campuses in Western New York. Members of the 4-SUNY Campus Trademark Licensing Consortium include the SUNY Colleges of Brockport, Buffalo State and Fredonia, with the University at Buffalo serving as the headquarters for centralized licensing services. A campus trademark licensing coordinator at each college works with the UB Office of Trademarks and Licensing, and monitors trademark use of their campus marks and is involved in compliance activities. My office provides all the licensing forms and data on their licensed suppliers and products to the coordinators and oversees royalty collection.