The UA ranked 26th out of 200 institutions for trademark and licensing revenue in a report released last month by the Collegiate Licensing Company.
The university receives between $750,000 and $1 million in royalties for the use of its name and logos by businesses, said James Francis, assistant athletic director for tickets and sales.
The money generated by the office goes to the Division of Student Affairs and Intercollegiate Athletics for “”scholarships, programs and facility renovations,”” according to the UA’s policy on product licensing and trademark usage.
Derek Hughes, spokesman for CLC, which is based in Atlanta, said the total retail revenue of CLC’s clients is estimated at $3 billion, with licensing requests coming in on a daily basis.
“”It’s never-ending,”” Hughes said.
Trademarks federally registered under the Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the UA include “”University of Arizona,”” “”Bear Down,”” “”Cats,”” the university official seal, the official block letter “”A,”” the Wilbur mascot, the graphic cat face logo and the cactus logo.
Other trademarks are registered with the state of Arizona on behalf of the UA, such as “”Zona,”” “”Wildcats”” and “”Wildcat Country.””
The Office of Trademarks and Licensing aims to insure the control and proper presentation of the university brand, Francis said.
Local businesses that want to use the UA name or trademark must get approval from the licensing office, which works closely with CLC.
Before giving businesses a contract, the licensing office considers business models, projected sales and quality of the product, Francis said.
However, businesses that existed before the UA established a licensing office are not required to adhere to the policies.
U of A Liquors, 1002 E. Sixth St., has never been granted permission to use the UA name and is not affiliated in any way with the university, said owner Richard Berger.
While the UA’s trademark usage policy states that UA trademarks “”will not be used in the promotion of weapons, alcohol, tobacco or recreational drug products,”” U of A Liquors is able to keep its title because the business began in 1950, before the UA trademarked its name.
“”We chose to include the UA in the name of our business for one obvious reason, our location,”” Berger said.
Preventing the unauthorized use of the UA trademark is a significant job for the licensing office.
“”We try to be vigilant about monitoring the use of our trademark as much as possible by focusing on the news and other ads, but we can’t catch everything,”” said Francis. “”This is important to us because we want to protect those who actually have permission and pay to use our name.””
The University of Arizona Store, run by Students in Free Enterprise in the Tucson Mall, is one local business that uses the UA name in its title because it is affiliated with the university.
“”We have permission from the UA to use their name because we are a satellite location through the bookstore,”” said manager Kari Westerham.
The UA has never encountered a serious problem or pursued legal action against a business that was using the university trademark without permission, Francis said.
“”Most companies that use our trademark without permission are small businesses that want to be associated with the UA but are unaware of our licensing policy,”” said Francis. “”In this situation, we inform the business of the unauthorized use of our trademark, and they usually comply with our policy.””
The University of Texas at Austin topped the royalties list, with the University of Michigan and the University of Notre Dame rounding out the top three.
