Policy Guidance for Trademarks and Licensing

Exceptions to using officially licensed vendors may be considered when an item:

• Is unique
  
• Is proprietary in nature
  
• Is not available from any UB collegiate licensed vendor
• Is exempt from royalties

If the exception is granted:

• One order per vendor per calendar year is allowed, university-wide
• The vendor must hold the appropriate amount of liability insurance and provide proof of insurance
• The vendor must certify they will abide by the Trademarks and Licensing Code of Conduct
• The item produced must adhere to proper use of the university’s name or marks and to all applicable brand guidelines
• The vendor is responsible for collecting and remitting royalties if the item is determined to be royalty-bearing

The current royalty rate is 12%. The royalty rate is applied to the wholesale price of a good not to the retail price. For example, the retail price of a shirt in a store may be $25; the actual wholesale price may be $5. The royalties collected on that shirt would be $.60.

Royalty payments are required even when university funds are used to procure trademarked items in the following circumstances:

• Products or services used for resale or sold at cost to faculty, staff and students unrelated to the educational mission of the university (e.g., a department collectively places an order for clothing for employees and then collects reimbursement from staff)
  • It is not considered resale for a unit to purchase items in bulk and then use an Interdepartmental Invoice (IDI) to share the cost of an order among departments
• Items that will be sold in fundraising efforts (e.g., student group selling t-shirts to raise money for their organization or a group raising money to make a donation to a humanitarian aid organization in recognition of a natural disaster)
• Items bearing the name of the university, master brand marks or other stylized marks and the usage of these marks is not specialized or customized in a way that would preclude sale by retailers to the public

The following criteria are required for a royalty exemption:

• University funds are used to purchase the product or service
• The item is sufficiently customized in such a way that the item would not be offered for sale to the general public by a retailer; examples include but are not limited to:
  • Any use of unit lockups at the brand extension or sub-brand level
  • Use of a master brand marks accompanied by a URL or event name e.g. “Orientation 2017”
  • Use of a master brand mark accompanied by a supporting statement such as “Compliments of the office of xyz"

Merchandise

Marks may be used on a product when no explicit relationship between the university and the manufacturer is stated (e.g., a university mark appears on a t-shirt and both the university mark and apparel mark are visible).

On-Campus Event

Marks may be used in an advertising promotion which the university mark is not included on a product, and no explicit relationship between the university and organization is stated (e.g., a non-profit organizes a blood drive on campus and uses a university mark to promote the on-campus event).

Sponsorship or Acknowledgment by External Entities

The university may obtain funding from corporate and other external entities to support programming or other strategic efforts. The university may acknowledge the support of these corporate and external entities provided there is no endorsement or mention of their product or service. Acknowledgments must:

• Reflect the integrity of the university’s reputation and image
• Be secondary and subordinate to the name, marks, and other representations of the school, department, unit, program or event to which the sponsorship relates (e.g., a banner promoting a departmental conference should prominently identify the conference and the department, the sponsor logos or other acknowledgment should be placed on the bottom of the banner in a smaller script, subordinate to references associated with the university)

Sponsorship of a university program, activity or event does not automatically give the corporate or external entity the right to use university trademarks, names or logos. Corporate or external sponsors must request approval from the Trademark and Licensing Program, which will then review the sponsorship agreement and discuss with the university unit responsible for the sponsorship.

Use of university marks by a corporate or external sponsor is limited to factual statements and must not appear as an endorsement or implied endorsement of the sponsor by the university (e.g., a sponsor may state that the company is a proud sponsor of a UB event; a sponsor may use a university logo on a webpage listing other sponsorships as long as the UB mark is consistent with and the same size as other logos).

Sponsorship or Acknowledgment by the University

The university may show support for the community through sponsorship of an event, activity or entity. These sponsorships may invite the university to place an ad in their communication materials (e.g., event program, poster, website, flyer, invitation). Alternatively, the university may show support by purchasing space in communications materials. University marks and messaging promoting the university or a specific university program placed in these communication materials must adhere to university identity and brand standards. Messaging must be limited to statements of fact and may not endorse the event, activity or entity (e.g., the message may say UB is a proud sponsor of the event or UB congratulates the winners of the event; the message may not say the organization is the best in the country).

Vendor Promotional Materials

A vendor who has, or has had, a contractual relationship with the university may make factual statements in its marketing materials acknowledging an official relationship with the university. Promotional material that identifies the university or some unit of the university as a customer or client must include only factual statements that describe the nature of the contractual relationship and must not give an opinion concerning the quality of a product or service.

Promotional material that gives an opinion about the quality of a product or service is permissible only when given by an individual in his or her personal capacity. If the individual is identified by university title, or a university affiliation is mentioned, there must be a disclaimer that the individual’s views may not represent those of the university.

A vendor may use the university master brand mark in its materials as part of a client list that includes other client logos. The UB logo may not be altered in any way and must be presented in the same fashion as other client marks.

All promotional material that identifies the university or a unit of the university as a customer or client must be approved in advance by the Trademarks and Licensing Program.

Short-Term Community Good Will

Vendors and individuals wishing to extend congratulatory messages or statements of support may use the university’s name (University at Buffalo) or initials (UB) temporarily in a public venue. Use of the university’s marks (i.e., university name only, not including stylized marks) must build goodwill in the local community, be short-term, and be separate from the sale or promotion of products or services (e.g., featured on a coupon or flyer promoting a new store; examples include a banner across an entrance cheering “Go Bulls,” “Welcome Back UB Students,” “Congratulations UB Students.”)

The following items do not require trademark approval when all university identity and brand standards are followed and changes have not been made to the design and approved colors or typeface of university trademarks:

• Materials produced through University Print Services, including but not limited to stationery, business cards, reports, posters
• Official university publications (e.g., Admissions view book, a university annual report, At Buffalo Alumni Magazine)
• Official university websites hosted in the UB content management system (CMS)
• Materials used in academic courses

In those instances where advance trademark usage approval is not practical (or otherwise not obtained prior to implementation), post-production approval may be obtained, assuming adherence to institutional identity and brand standards. These types of situations may include, but are not limited to:

• Disposable items that have a useful life of under one year (e.g., brochures, posters, or flyers used during the course of one semester or that are not expected to be used past a certain event or during the course of one semester)
• Electronic communications (e.g., emails, digital newsletters, websites hosted outside the UBCMS, including official university websites and vendor or partner websites)

Brand Extension

The second highest level of hierarchy following the master brand. These include the twelve decanal units and the vice presidential divisional areas.

Master Brand Mark

The nine variants of the UB master brand marks. These incorporate both the interlocking UB and the name “University at Buffalo,” and may include the “State University of New York” modifier.

Stylized Mark

Interlocking UB master brand mark, spirit mark, crest, seal, or any other past or future mark owned by the university that is not strictly text but consists of some type of artwork or graphic design.

Sub Brand

The third level of hierarchy when displaying unit identities in conjunction with the master brand. This level is typically made up of departments within schools or offices within divisions.

Unit Lockup

A mark that an official unit of the university uses to visually represent itself. This lockup refers to how the name of the unit locks up or connects to the master brand marks of the university.