Tricia Hornsby
Media Relations Manager
The Collegiate Licensing Company
(404) 455-8926 or thornsby@clc.com
The Collegiate Licensing Company and NCAAŽ Partner to Protect Trademarks at the Men’s Final FourŽ
CLC and Indianapolis law enforcement address counterfeiting at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis
ATLANTA, Ga., (March 30, 2010) – As each team prepares for its upcoming Men’s Final Four match-up, The Collegiate Licensing Company (CLC), a division of IMG College, on behalf of the NCAA, is making preparations to rid the marketplace of potential counterfeit and unlicensed merchandise.
CLC and NCAA will work closely with Indianapolis law enforcement officials to patrol the Indianapolis area in search of counterfeiters selling “knock-off” merchandise and any other unauthorized use of trademarks owned by the NCAA or participating institutions. All counterfeit merchandise is subject to seizure.
It is estimated that retail sales of licensed team merchandise during the Division I Men’s Basketball Championship exceeds $10 million, making the tournament a big target for counterfeiters.
“Our goal is to assist in preserving a positive experience for all Men’s Final Four consumers,” said Bruce Siegal, Senior Vice President and General Counsel, The Collegiate Licensing Company. “By teaming with Indianapolis law enforcement, we are able to cover a large jurisdiction, deter bootleggers, and ensure that consumers are not defrauded in purchasing counterfeit merchandise that is often inferior quality.”
On average, nearly 1,000 pieces of counterfeit collegiate merchandise, ranging from T-shirts to hats, are seized outside the host venue of the Men’s Final Four each year.
“The NCAA and colleges and universities support numerous student and campus endeavors with the sale of appropriately licensed merchandise and the royalties associated with those sales,” said Peter Davis, NCAA Director of Corporate Alliances. “Thanks to CLC and Indianapolis law enforcement, we’re assuring that collegiate programs receive this important funding.”
CLC has administered the NCAA Licensing Program since 1997.
About the NCAA
The NCAA is a membership-led nonprofit association of colleges and universities committed to supporting academic and athletics opportunities for more than 400,000 student-athletes at more than 1,000 member colleges and universities. Each year, more than 54,000 student-athletes compete in NCAA championships in Division I, II and III sports. Visit www.NCAA.org and www.NCAA.com for more details about the Association, its goals and members and corporate partnerships that help support programs for student-athletes. The NCAA is proud to have the following elite companies as official Corporate Champions —AT&T, Capital One and Coca-Cola — and the following elite companies as official Corporate Partners —Enterprise, The Hartford, Hershey’s, LG, Lowe’s, Planters, State Farm and UPS.
NCAA and Final Four are trademarks of the National Collegiate Athletic Association.
About The Collegiate Licensing Company
CLC is a division of global sports and entertainment company IMG. Founded in 1981, CLC is the oldest and largest collegiate licensing agency in the U.S. and currently represents nearly 200 colleges, universities, bowl games, athletic conferences, The Heisman Trophy and the NCAA. The mission of CLC is to be the guiding force in collegiate trademark licensing and one of the top sports licensing firms in the country. CLC is dedicated to being a center of excellence in providing licensing services of the highest quality to its member institutions, licensees, retailers and consumers. Headquartered in Atlanta (Ga.), CLC is a full-service licensing representative, which employs a staff of more than 80 licensing professionals who provide full-service capabilities in brand protection, brand management, and brand development. For more information on CLC, visit: www.clc.com or www.imgworld.com.