For those of us who work or study on campus, the UCLA brand is an everyday thing. Sometimes we forget that the UCLA names and marks are assets of great value. To protect UCLA’s reputation and legal rights, we all need a basic understanding of brand protection.
The UCLA marks include words, abbreviations, logos, symbols and landmarks that distinguish and identify UCLA. The UCLA Marks are protected regardless of color, font, letterform, etc. The UCLA Marks include, but are not limited to, these examples of UCLA Marks.
State, federal and international law protect UCLA’s trademarks, registered and unregistered. University and campus policy spells out the proper use of names and marks.
The campus units of UCLA have the right (and responsibility) to use the UCLA marks on the print, video and online materials they create to conduct the business of the university. But even for campus units, there are areas of caution.
Let’s say a department wants to show its support for a nonprofit organization by co-sponsoring an event and putting a UCLA logo on the program or website. That’s a “third party” use, and requires permission. Or perhaps you want to print t-shirts or promotional items for a recruitment effort. Those require the use of a licensed vendor, even if the items are given away rather than sold.
Brand Guidelines define how UCLA marks should be used — but only for approved uses. To find out if permission is needed for a specific use, and to start the review process, use the Administrative Vice Chancellor’s site Permission to Use UCLA Marks.
You should be aware of three UCLA policies that are especially relevant to the proper use of the UCLA brand: 110, 411 and 863.
You’re working on a project with researchers from other schools. “Let’s feature all our logos on the project website,” a colleague suggests. Can you send the UCLA logo?
Not without permission. “Third party use” includes use by an individual, a corporation, a nonprofit or a government agency — by any entity that isn’t UCLA or the University of California.
Permission is more likely to be granted if the proposed web page clearly states UCLA’s role in the research and presents our logo appropriately sized and with enough clear space to separate it from other logos.
Policy 110 spells out the restrictions on the use of UCLA’s names, seals and trademarks by individuals, groups, and third parties.
Your boss is in a hurry to launch a website, so you use your credit card to register a domain name for uclagreatidea.org. You’re a hero, right?
Maybe not. Because the name “UCLA” is owned by the State of California, any domain name that includes the campus name must be registered to the Regents, not to an individual. You can list yourself as the Admin Contact or the Tech Contact, but not the Registrant.
Consult Policy 411 for the right way to register a domain name, whether it’s in the ucla.edu domain or a top-level domain other than “edu.” Domain name approvals can be submitted through Permission to Use UCLA Marks.
Policy 411 applies Policy 110 to web and electronic services, recognizing the importance of our online presence to the UCLA brand.
Your department is updating its publications and website, so you hire a photographer to capture campus scenes. “Just go take pictures,” you say.
Not so fast. Even photography for internal use by campus units may require a permit. Unless you stay entirely inside your own facility, you need to contact the Events Office.
The Events Office also coordinates the logistics for commercial filming and photography on campus, making sure that scheduled events and academic programming aren’t interrupted. Access to iconic locations is limited.
Policy 863 recognizes the importance of still and moving images to UCLA’s identity and brand. In some contexts a photo of Royce Hall says “UCLA” as clearly as a logo.
UCLA policies specifically state that organizations are limited to using “at UCLA” or “at University of California Los Angeles” in their names:
“Registered Campus Organizations may only use the name of the University or abbreviation thereof as part of their own name for the purposes of geographical designation. Example: “Undergraduate English Association at UCLA” is acceptable; UCLA Undergraduate English Association” is not acceptable.”
(UCLA Regulations on Activities, Registered Campus Organizations, and Use of Properties)
In order to do even that much, a group must be registered through Student Organizations, Leadership and Engagement (SOLE). The website marks.ucla.edu provides a starting point for student groups to register.
Learn more in the Names and Naming section of these guidelines.
While groups can use “at UCLA” and “at University of California, Los Angeles” in their names, there are guidelines for typesetting. For example, the campus name should be set in the same typeface as the student group name. The campus name should not be italicized and the typesetting cannot resemble UCLA’s official logos.
Campus groups may not use UCLA’s primary logos at all. Registered campus groups are only allowed to use two protected UCLA marks: #58 and #62, located on the UCLA Art Sheet April 2018. The marks may be “texturized,” as long as the original shape and structure of the mark is intact.
Groups and organizations can create their own artwork as long as it does not replicate or resemble protected UCLA marks. Groups can also create and use illustrations and drawings of UCLA buildings and landmarks (such as Royce Hall or Janss Steps). However, groups are not allowed to use artwork featuring or portraying UCLA people (alumni, faculty, etc.), or any copyrighted materials/objects on campus (e.g., sculptures in the Sculpture Garden).
Policy 110 delegates much of the oversight of UCLA’s names and marks to the UCLA Administrative Vice Chancellor. That office maintains an online permissions process to streamline needed approvals, Permission to Use UCLA Marks.
