Giveaways, Uniforms, and Internal Use
The BU Trademark Use and Royalty Waiver Program
The Boston University name, logos, symbols, and trademarks represent important and valuable elements of the BU identity. To protect the name and image of the University and to ensure that the BU name is only used on high quality merchandise, the University has licensed the ability to embellish its name and marks on branded merchandise and apparel to a carefully selected set of vendors. These vendors have agreed to follow all University brand standards and to produce products in healthy and safe facilities that provide treat their workers with respect and dignity.
BU licensed vendors are required to pay a royalty fee for every item they produce that bears the BU name or any of the University’s marks or logos. The BU Trademark Use and Royalty Waiver Program was developed to allow BU entities to produce branded merchandise and apparel for giveaways, uniforms, and internal use that is royalty free.
Royalty Waiver Process
To apply for a royalty waiver, the Trademark Licensing Office has developed a convenient online form. Simply fill out this form and submit it to the Trademark Licensing Office and we will return the approved royalty waiver within 1-2 business days.
BU Trademark Use/Royalty Waiver Request
Covered Products
The Boston University Trademark Use and Royalty Waiver Program covers all BU branded promotional products and apparel purchased by a Boston University School, College, Administrative Department, Affiliate/Partner, Club Sport, or Student Orgnaization. Branded items can include standard purchases such as t-shirts, pens, and tote bags, but can also include more niche items such as utensil sets or electronic accessories. Standardized paper goods such as letterhead and business cards are not included in this program.
Covered Uses
Royalties will be waived for all covered products that are produced to promote the BU entity and that are not intended to be sold. This includes giveaways, promotional products, tabling materials, uniforms, and any item that will be used internally by the BU entity. Royalty waivers do not apply to items produced for sale to individuals.
Allowed Vendors
Boston University requires any vendor that manufactures or embellishes an item with the University name, logo, or symbol, to have a trademark license with the University. Our office works hard to maintain a robust list of licensed vendors who can produce a wide array of promotional products and/or apparel. For a list of all licensed vendors authorized to produce BU branded products, see our current list of vendors licensed to produce branded goods and apparel.
When choosing a vendor, consider vendors and products that are…
Sustainable
Sustanability is a core goal of Boston University’s strategic Plan. When choosing a vendor and product, consider those that best align with BU’s goals as outlined in the BU Sustainable Purchasing Look for companies who produce items certified by organizations such as GreenSeal or Fair Trade, or who are B-Corp Certified or meet the Global Organic Textile Standard.
Affordable
While you may reach out to a licensed vendor directly for a quote for your product, we recommend using the Fairmarkit Quick Quote tool created by the Procure-to-Pay team. The Quick Quote tool is an automated quoting tool that empowers buyers to quickly request quotes from third-party suppliers in as little as 24–48 hours. The tool is also integrated with Guided BUying, which allows a Purchase Requisition (PR) to automatically be created when awarding to a registered supplier in Fairmarkit.
As part of this program, Procure-to-Pay has created two Promotional Items Pinned Groups within Fairmarkit. These pinned groups are pre-populated lists of established suppliers who are authorized to use the Boston University logo and will adhere to the University’s brand standards. They have created two separate Pinned Groups based on the most common promotional items purchases and supplier’s self-identified product categories: clothing & apparel and gifts, novelties, & office products. The suppliers in these groups are prepared to respond to requests quickly and have been contracted to do business with the University.
By issuing a quote through a Fairmarkit Pinned Group, buyers can reach out to multiple suppliers simultaneously with a single request. Once the quotes are returned, you can quickly compare competitive pricing to choose the supplier with the best value proposition for your project.
Diverse
BU also cares deeply about supplier diversity. To support this initiative, the Trademark Licensing Office has included a search function to our website that will allow you to sort licensed vendors by various categories that are also aligned with the BU Campus Shop’s Prestige Pursuits program, including women or minority owned, veteran owned, as well as spotlighting companies that produce products that are eco-friendly, are locally made, or that do good by giving back to the community.
Vendor Lists for Specific Groups
If you are a buyer for certain campus organizations, you may have a specific list of vendors that are preferred or required for you to choose from. These groups include…
- Club Sports:Club Sport organizations should consult the Club Sports Handbook. Appendix B of the Handbook contains a list of vendors approved for Club Sports teams. If you have any questions, please contact your Club Sport Advisor.
- Athletics:Athletic teams must order certain items from our contracted sideline provider, Under Armour, or their affiliate. Contact the Athletics Communications team for information about authorized vendors for all other products.
Product Submission and Approval
Approval depends on the entity that you belong to and the specific logo or mark that you are using.
- University Plate or BU Icon and Sub-Brand Logo – Contact the BU Marketing & Communications Department for brand approval through their brand guidelines web form. For fastest approval when using the University Plate or Sub-brand, always submit your artwork for MarCom review prior to sending the artwork to your vendor.
- School or College – Submit your design and product to your Communications office for brand approval.
- Club Sports – Submit your product and design to your Club Sports Advisor for approval.
- Student Organizations – Submit your product and design to your Advisor for approval.
- Athletics – Submit your product and design to Athletics Communications for approval.
Once approved by the organization, you will be able to submit your design to your vendor. At that time, you vendor will upload the design to our licensing platform for a final trademark approval. If we have any remaining questions about the design or product, we will reach out directly to you. Once we approve the design, the product is ready to go into production.