University at Buffalo (UB)
Detailed answers regarding the many facets of ordering promotional products and receiving official Trademarks and Licensing approval.
If you’re unsure of any language used in the explanations below, please see a full list of definitions.
According to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), a trademark is a brand name and includes any word, name, symbol, device, or any combination, used or intended to be used to identify and distinguish the goods/services of one seller or provider from those of others, and to indicate the source of the goods/services. Therefore, UB claims and protects the following trademarks: our names, seals, symbols, insignia, logos, original artwork, word marks, signatures or taglines, uniforms, mascots, or other identifying visuals, as well as still and moving images, or any other identifier that represents the University at Buffalo.
TM stands for trademark and is used for tangible goods. SM stands for service mark and is used when a company only provides services to their customers. Both symbols are used prior to any official registration with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Once the office grants official registration of the mark, the ® symbol is required.
All of the above symbols demonstrate ownership. The University at Buffalo requires all trademarks to carry appropriate symbols on all uses unless an exemption is granted by the UB Trademarks and Licensing (TML) office.
No, you don’t have to throw them away; however, if the TML office finds that any reorder of that particular item is still missing the TM or ®, they will place the UB unit and licensed vendor on notice and may request disposal of the reprinted item in the future.
Royalties are payments made in exchange to use a trademark. Royalties are collected whenever an item is produced that could be sold in a retail setting. The royalty rate is applied to the wholesale price of a good, not its retail price. For example, the retail price of a shirt in a store may be $25, while the actual wholesale price is only $5. The royalties collected on that shirt would be $.60, which reflects a 12% royalty rate.
The current royalty rate is 12% as of 4/1/2020, which is subject to change. Little Victor brand assets are subject to a 13% royalty rate.
Royalty exemptions are never granted when using Little Victor. Royalty exemptions when using other brand assets are granted on a very limited basis and must satisfy ALL conditions below:
No, royalty payments are required in the following circumstances even when using university funds to procure trademarked items:
No. The university contracts with a licensing agent that handles all royalty fee transactions. Also, there are many other reasons for using a licensed vendor, such as liability insurance coverage; ethical, environmental, and sustainability issues; and financial stability.
Royalties are a pass-through charge. They will be included on the final invoice from the licensed vendor who produced the item. The licensed vendor then passes the collected royalty fee to UB's licensing agent.
Per UB’s official policy, a vendor who has, or has had, a contractual relationship with the university or a unit of the university may make only factual statements in its marketing materials acknowledging an official relationship with the university. The statement may describe the nature of the contractual relationship and cannot give an opinion concerning the quality of a product or service.
Promotional material that states an opinion about the quality of a product or service is permissible only when provided by an individual acting in his or her own personal capacity, separate from the university. If the individual is identified by their university title or affiliation, a disclaimer should state that the individual’s personal views do not reflect that of the university.
A vendor may use the university master brand mark or a unit brand extension or sub brand mark, whichever is most appropriate to their relationship with the university, 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 way 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 TML office.
Possibly, but you must follow strict guidelines that are explained further in the TML policy as well as your individual sponsor contract with the university. Review your sponsorship contract and the policy for further details.
The university name and/or marks can appear in a client list; however, there are restrictions. UB must be presented in the same fashion as other business partners that appear in the client list. It cannot be highlighted in a special way, such that it is the only client listed or our names/marks appear larger than any other client. Additionally, any context must provide only factual statements, such as “previous customers of XYZ.” No actual or implied claims of endorsement are allowed, such as “preferred vendor of the University at Buffalo.”
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 TML office.
Yes, but please do not include any other content that provides an opinion or serves as an implied endorsement of the work pictured.
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 TML office.
Using the university name “University at Buffalo,” the initials “UB” or the term “Bulls” in plain text type is allowed only if the following conditions are met:
Examples of allowable instances include a banner across an entrance cheering “Go Bulls” during the NCAA March Madness tournament, “Welcome Back, UB Students” at the start of the academic school year, or “Congratulations, UB Graduates” during commencement season. Under no circumstance are any official UB trademarks, logos, or lockups permitted within these uses.
Yes. Once you identify your relationship with one of UB’s official institutional accounts by using the correct handle or profile name, you will automatically see the proper UB logo(s) established for those platforms.
You may also utilize UB’s name and marks on personal webpages to indicate your education history or prior work experience. Usage must be strictly factual in context. You cannot monetize, commoditize or commercialize the university name and marks in any way, or infer, imply or explicitly communicate an endorsement or recommendation on behalf of the university.
Using a licensed vendor ensures that they are aware of and abide by UB brand requirements; maintain proper liability insurance to protect the university’s interest; uphold high sustainability and ethical standards within their supply chain; honor UB’s Code of Conduct; and validate product quality and strong financial stability. We are also contractually obligated to use licensed vendors per our agreement with our licensing agent.
Please contact the TML office at UBTrademarks@buffalo.edu so we can reach out to the vendor to explain our policy and licensing requirements. We can also help identify a new licensed vendor to fulfill your order.
Contact the TML office at UBTrademarks@buffalo.edu to discuss your options.
A vector file is a format that uses mathematical curves and paths to produce an image that you can scale to size without losing any quality. Unlike raster files that are made of tiny pixels, which can easily become distorted as you enlarge them, vectors retain their crispness no matter what size you choose to use them in. The university provides a vector version when you download a logo or lockup as an .eps file. You or the vendor can retrieve these files directly from the UB Logos, Marks and Graphics webpage without any special log-in credentials. For additional information on using the correct file and color formats for digital and printed applications, please review our file format and color tip sheet.
Generally, you should pick a different item with a larger imprint area. For example, if you would like to order lanyards for your staff to wear but the lanyard is too thin to accommodate a brand extension or sub-brand lockup, you must select a wider lanyard to fit the lockup.
However, when the product is not available in different sizes and is necessary as an office/classroom supply item such as a flash drive, the TML office will allow an item with minimal information such as the program name in plain type instead of unit lockups. Contact the TML office at UBTrademarks@buffalo.edu to discuss your options.
Absolutely not. You must adhere strictly to brand guidelines. The TML office does not approve or support any self-curated logos, marks, lock ups, names, taglines or designs that deviate from what’s outlined on the brand website. Also, any creation of new logos is considered competing trademarks and an infringement on the university’s brand.
No. Absolutely no revisions to any UB mark is permitted.
No, you cannot change logos or marks in any way. These sanctioned colors are just as much a part of the university’s brand as the actual logos the TML office protects.
While we discourage the use of any artwork or images that are not owned by the university and part of our brand assets, we do occasionally allow this practice if it makes sense for a particular program or event.
Any artwork not owned by the university must be released for use. This written artwork release form is required unless it is in the public domain and proven in writing. Artwork provided as free and clear to use in any manner including commercial endeavors (e.g., clip art) will be approved only if the image is for short-term use and will not be used on a long-term basis.
Since clip art and other free and clear items are in the public domain, they cannot be governed to reflect UB’s brand. For instance, if a UB student club uses a clip art graphic which is also used by a radical extremist group, it would negatively impact the student club’s and the university’s reputation.
Protecting the university’s brand assets and trademarks is very important. These elements work together to create, build and enhance UB’s reputation. That’s why the TML office takes the protection of trademarks very seriously. Yes, this process can be time-consuming. However, if your requests adhere to current brand guidelines, it can take less than a day to complete. The TML office continually looks for ways to improve this process, so please share any suggestions you may have.
Any item that carries university trademarks, names, images, seals or logos and has a shelf life of one year or longer must be approved by the TML office prior to production. There are two categories that typically do not require prior trademark approval, but must continue following brand standards:
Please note that all business stationery must be ordered through UB Print Services as they are the only official provider permitted to use university marks without individual trademark approval for each order.
Yes, you are. Not only do we approve the marks used on any given product, but we also ensure that the item reflects the quality and value of our university and is not a prohibited item or includes discriminatory or derogatory language/images.
Yes, you do. This is the only way the TML office can ensure that any mark(s) on the product remains on brand, the vendor is still a licensee and the product is not prohibited.
A departmental sale is no different from any other trademark request. The design must be submitted for trademark approval prior to collecting orders. This is to ensure that the designs that you promote for sale are the same as what was approved by the TML office. The TML office is not responsible for additional costs incurred if you sell items based on designs that are later required to be adjusted to meet trademark and brand standards. Getting designs approved prior to selling your items ensures that the customer will receive the design they ordered. Additional guidelines for Student Association groups can be found here.
The TML office does not oversee procurement requirements. Please refer to the current UB procurement guidelines for your particular funding source before submitting trademark approval request to the TML office.
Try to work with your vendor to rectify the problem first. If you are unable to reach an acceptable resolution, please contact the TML office directly for assistance. If the order was imprinted with an incorrect logo, please notify the TML office immediately for further instructions and assistance.
It’s very difficult to set a time because there are many variables that depend on the item chosen, including application process, country of origin, shipping time, design layout and trademark approval.
The goal is a 24-hour turnaround or under. However, common issues can delay the process, including but not limited to funding sources, unlicensed vendors, artwork ownership and corrections required on design layout.
Yes, that’s okay. Though, please be aware that the UB customer is ultimately responsible for completion, submission and final approval before the item moves into production.
No. Those items should not be used for promotional purposes. The university originally allowed each department to phase out old promotional items beginning in April 2016.
Yes. You can review the TML policy as well as the policy guidance document on this website.
All of our licensees agree to abide by our Code of Conduct and hold membership in the independent monitoring agency, Fair Labor Association (FLA). The university is also an affiliate member of the FLA and holds membership in the Worker Rights Consortium (WRC). The university, our licensees and licensing agent are all committed to sustainability and full transparency through active audits, industry monitoring and educational efforts.
There are various reasons why the university prohibits certain items. Many items are physically harmful such as tobacco products or firearms, while categories such as gambling and politics are not in line with institutional values. Skin care items are restricted due to the high probability of adverse reactions and the inability to control proper testing and labeling practices.
All items are evaluated by the TML office for risk to the end user and the university’s brand.
No personal uses are permitted. The university’s trademarks are owned by the university for university use only.
All items that carry any UB trademarks including the university’s names must be vetted through the TML office for approval. You can order these items directly from one of many licensed vendors that follow the trademarks and licensing approval process. Please contact the TML office at UBTrademarks@buffalo.edu for assistance in finding a vendor and more information on the approval process.
Unfortunately, no. At this time, the TML office does not have a crafting program that monitors this type of usage and therefore cannot grant permission to use UB trademarks.
No. The TML office loves branded homemade baked goods from grandmas as much as the next person and allows this celebratory practice without any trademark oversight.
Unfortunately, no, you cannot reuse or donate these items. If the design layout is incorrect, no audience should receive the item. Releasing an incorrect item into the external market weakens the university’s brand.
No. UB still claims ownership of old logos and restricts use.
Unfortunately, no. UB doesn’t allow any other teams or schools, no matter what educational level they are, to use current or old trademarks.
You cannot pair your unique messaging with UB trademarks because this creates a new logo that competes with current marks. This type of creation/revision is strictly forbidden and will be formally addressed by UB’s brand management team.
We receive tips from many people—staff, alumni, vendors, retailers—informing the TML office of trademark infringements and welcome all reports of non-compliance activity. Typically, someone will reach out to educate the offending parties on the approval process and need for brand compliance. The original contact person is never revealed. If you want to report noncompliant activity, please contact the TML office at UBTrademarks@buffalo.edu.
Please send notification of any suspicious use of UB trademarks directly to UBTrademarks@buffalo.edu and include as much information as possible, such as where you saw the item, a description of its use, and a photo, if possible. Your name or unit is never mentioned if the TML office reaches out to the vendor.
Yes, in both instances you need to get approval before moving forward. Also, the TML office may need to involve the Capital Planning department within UB Facilities depending on the application. Please verify with your unit’s Facilities Planning and Management Officer (FPMO) to ensure you have proper unit-level and facilities approvals before proceeding.