For Immediate Release
Contact: Derek Hughes
The Collegiate Licensing Company
(770) 799-3245 or dhughes@clc.com
IMG College: The Collegiate Licensing Company and NCAA Partnering to Protect Trademarks at the Men’s Final Four
Joint taskforce will address counterfeiting outside Alamodome in San Antonio (TX)
ATLANTA, Ga., (April 4, 2008) – As the teams prepare for their Final Four match-ups, The Collegiate Licensing Company (CLC), a division of IMG College, and the NCAA are making preparations to rid the market of potential counterfeit and unlicensed merchandise.
It’s estimated that on-site retail sales of licensed team merchandise during a Men's Final Four weekend exceeds $2 million, which makes merchandise a big target for counterfeiters.
“Our goal is to assist in preserving a positive experience for all Final Four consumers,” said Bruce Siegal, Senior Vice President and General Counsel, The Collegiate Licensing Company. “By teaming with San Antonio law enforcement, we can cover a large jurisdiction, deter bootleggers, and ensure that consumers are not defrauded in purchasing counterfeit merchandise that is often inferior quality.”
“A percentage of the revenue from licensed merchandise is returned to the colleges and universities to support student and other campus endeavors; without the protection of NCAA marks, many essential programs might not receive the appropriate funding,” said Peter Davis, Director of Corporate Alliances, NCAA.
When purchasing NCAA Final Four merchandise, consumers should always look for the following characteristics to ensure the merchandise they purchase is officially licensed:
- All officially licensed merchandise should display the “Officially Licensed Collegiate Product” Hologram somewhere on the product or hangtag.
- The merchandise should depict the NCAA marks in a tasteful manner, as the NCAA does not approve distasteful designs.
- The tag on the garment should be intact. A torn or missing tag is evidence of a second-hand garment, one that probably would not meet the stringent quality standards in place by the NCAA.
- All merchandise should bear the name of the manufacturer somewhere on the product, either in the form of a hangtag, a neck label, or screen-printed directly on the garment.
- All merchandise should have the appropriate trademark designations (i.e. TM, ) next to a specific name or design.
In addition, the NCAA owns several verbiage phrases and cannot be used unless you are an NCAA licensee or a National Champions licensee. Those verbiage phrases include: Elite Eight, Final Four, Final 4, Hoop City, It's More Than A Game, March Madness, National Collegiate Athletic Association, National Collegiate Championships, NCAA, NCAA Sweet Sixteen, NCAA Sweet 16, Road to San Antonio, and The Big Dance
CLC has administered the NCAA Licensing Program since 1997.
ABOUT THE COLLEGIATE LICENSING COMPANY
CLC, a division of IMG College, was 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
ABOUT THE NCAA
The NCAA is a membership-led nonprofit association of colleges and universities committed to supporting academic and athletic opportunities for more than 380,000 student-athletes at more than 1,250 member colleges and universities. Each year, more than 49,000 student-athletes compete in NCAA championships in Division I, II and III sports. Visit http://www.ncaa.org/ for more details about the Association, its goals and members and corporate partnerships that help support programs for student-athletes.