Licensing vs Royalties

BSU and NTC policy dictates that all vendors producing items bearing the BSU or NTC logo or nameplates, or intended to represent the college or university, must be obtained from a licensed vendor.

However, royalty payments are only collected from vendors whose merchandise is produced for resale. Items produced as giveaway or promotional items are produced royalty-free. The Office of Communications & Marketing can grant exceptions for royalties on internal-use items as well.

In short: In all circumstances, vendors are required to be licensed in order to produce items bearing the BSU or NTC name, logo or image or that are intended to represent the college or the university.

Royalties are typically only collected on those items produced for resale.

Please contact us with questions.

A university’s name, logo, athletic icon, related words or images and school colors are considered valuable assets that, when used properly, help build an institution’s reputation. Managing these assets through a collegiate licensing program, as well as through consistent use, ensures that the representative images are used correctly and appropriately in a variety of applications, from banners and beanies to team uniforms and tablecloths. Bemidji State University and Northwest Technical College maintain rights to any words, phrases, images or concepts used to represent or suggest the university, the college or any of its entities.

Managing BSU Licensing

Bemidji State University and Northwest Technical College have partnered with Learfield Licensing Partners to manage licensing programs and monitor the use of BSU and NTC imagery, the names “Bemidji State University” and “Northwest Technical College” and their related designations, such as Beaver Athletics. This licensing program protects the visual identities of the university and college while helping to enhance the institutions’ images. The licensing firm will work with offices and vendors to increase the marketability of products and clothing.

Carissa Menefee, associate director of communications & marketing, is BSU’s primary liaison with Learfield.

Using Licensed Vendors

All merchandise containing university images or names, whether for internal use, giveaways or sale, must be produced by a licensed vendor. Also, all merchandise designs must adhere to university and college brand identity standards and must be approved by the Office of Communications & Marketing. Licensed vendors are required to use an online system managed by Learfield to submit proposed designs for all merchandise bearing BSU or NTC logos or wordmarks to the Office of Communications & Marketing for approval. Designs must be approved through this system before production can begin.

Finding Licensed Vendors

A list of vendors licensed to produce items bearing logos or nameplates for either BSU or NTC is available by contacting Mike Lee, graphic design and publications coordinator.