Trademarks & Licensing

A trademark is a distinctive design, graphics, logo, symbols, words, or any combination thereof that uniquely identifies a business and/or its goods or services, guarantees the item’s genuineness, and gives its owner the legal rights to prevent the trademark’s unauthorized use. 

Businesses wishing to utilize UC Merced trademarks should be aware of university trademark licensing policies and procedures.   

UC Trademark Licensing Agreement

Apply for a license

Any person, business or organization with an interest in marketing products bearing the trademarks of UC Merced or the University of California needs to first obtain a license through the Collegiate Licensing Company (CLC). There are two types of licenses available with UC Merced offered through CLC, an Internal license, and a Retail License. 

CLC License Type Quick Reference Guide

New applicants are evaluated by the UC Merced Procurement & Marketing Department. Evaluation criteria include the following: product quality, market potential, ability to meet social compliance requirements, existence of current licensees offering a similar product, product liability exposure, licensing experience and appropriate fit with the university’s image. 

Get Licensed: https://clc.com/home/get-licensed/

License Review Process

1. CLC review: After the required paperwork is submitted to CLC, the potential licensee and company information is sent to the university for review and approval. 
2. University review: The university may require representative product sample(s). UC Merced Marketing will require that licensees are able to approximate PMS 295 Bobcat Blue and PMS 110 Bobcat Gold. We will also review the company information, the product and its quality, and make a decision on whether or not to approve the company as a licensee. 
3. Decision notification: Approval (or disapproval) of the licensee by the university will be sent to CLC, who will notify the potential licensee of the decision. 

4. After the licensee obtains approval, they will next need to complete the UC Merced New Vendor Setup, which is initiated by the requesting department. After vendor setup approval, the requesting department may then enter a Non-Catalog Purchase Request for their desired purchase from the licensee.