Permission to print Licensed sports stuff

[Screened Gear]

How do I check to make sure they have the license to print NFL sports items. Is there a letter or a website to check for???

[Frog]

How do I check to make sure they have the license to print NFL sports items. Is there a letter or a website to check for???

I think that there's more to it than that.
The one time I got even close to something like that (besides some third party hot market shop occupations) the NFL also had to approve the particular product, and our execution of it.
Perhaps this was because it wasn't a shirt, (but rather wall hangings of teams' fields complete with logos) but I'd error on the side of caution on this stuff.

[3Deep]

I'm willing to bet a monkey in a hat if it's not an authorize vendor your doing the printing for it's not licensed, here is one more thing if there not shipping you the shirts and asking for the what you normally print for regular customers It's not licensed, and if they are not sending you art with all kinds agreements it's not licensed, need more LOL

[kingscreen]

You don't.  You run far far away.  Real companies with real licenses will pile all that paperwork on you from the first conversation.

[Screened Gear]

OK so lets say they are legit. How do I prove it.

[ebscreen]

Holograms.

[Dottonedan]

Scott and Darryl sound correct.  It's legal business stuff. The licensor wants to know and hold accountable everyone in the loop. First the licensee, and then also the vendor/printer. You should be named in his license as a vendor and they want to know all about you. Bit just your address, but a D&B +.

You will typically be required to sign as a vendor that the work is sublet to. I sold WVU product such as tees, coffee mugs, ink pens etc. and that's one example of what I went through. I could not just come up with a design and then send it out to whoever I wanted to produce it.  QC and business integrity as well as ability to handle their orders (meeting deadlines). All that is reviewed.

You can call said licensors office, do some research for the number and you will get to who you need. That's how you confirm they are licensed.

[mimosatexas]

Funny...when I worked at the bookstore in college (large state school) as a lowly graphic design intern earning $10 an hour I designed I don't even know how many shirts/hats/bags/socks/etc that were sold in our store and at the stadium shop.  Never had any hoops to jump through and pretty much just got told a basic idea and did my thing.  I have heard some schools protect their brands much more hawkishly, but this school had 50k students and a top 25 football team, and 20 year old me was designing a lot of their merch.

Granted I was working for the school itself, not a licensed vendor, but I guess my point is they could have cared less about quality control and branding consistency.  It was basically: here are our marks and our colors, make stuff with them.  I rarely even made edits past first drafts.

[Dottonedan]

That can happen for sure.  While I had been in the WVU area, I met a printer who owner a retail shop down town on campus and he complained a lot about other shops printing the same stuff unlicensed.  As we all know, it happens every day. Sometimes it's like this. They take the position of. It's better to ask forgiveness and have profited pretty well, then to be denied permission and/or, give them a cut.

[dirkdiggler]

we hold a license for a particular brand, and SO many other printers print the same stuff illegally.  I pay royalty fees and the illegal printers can beat me on price because they don't.  I will probably drop the license, to much of a hassle to lose sales the illegal printer.

[Sbrem]

We've done quite a bit for the Pats, and the Celtics, Bruins and Red Sox too. You get a contract as a screenprinter (or embroiderer I suppose) that you have to sign and send back; you are allowed to print that one time (this is for hot markets). I imagine the wording is different if you're going to be printing stuff for general retail, but it would be a contract from NFL Properties, or whatever they call themselves officially. There should also be one from the licensee as well. We get and sign both when doing this work. Yes, they provide the numbered rolls of holographic stickers, and are very careful about how many you use, and you have to send back the unused rolls (well, duh!).

Steve

[balloonguy]

I did some balloons in a rush for Disney many years ago. I had to sign a non disclosure (or something like that) before they would even send the images.

[Scobey Peterman]

I have heard that in the South Eastern Conferance you would need to put down about 10k before printing anything for any of the schools.

[Atownsend]

Don't know about NFL, but for any college stuff you want to talk to the CLC (Collegiate Licensing Company). They do the licensing for most colleges & make sure royalties are collected and reported, along with piracy enforcement. Lots of paperwork / red tape / reporting and BS that go along with it. Doesn't fit our business model too much so will probably drop our license this year. That + the yearly administrative fees, additional insurance requirements, and did I say beaurocracy hassle that goes along with it hasn't paid off for us. Its cool to produce officially licensed stuff, but unless you really dedicate yourself to that market and go all in then its likely to be a waste of resources.

[dirkdiggler]

Don't know about NFL, but for any college stuff you want to talk to the CLC (Collegiate Licensing Company). They do the licensing for most colleges & make sure royalties are collected and reported, along with piracy enforcement. Lots of paperwork / red tape / reporting and BS that go along with it. Doesn't fit our business model too much so will probably drop our license this year. That + the yearly administrative fees, additional insurance requirements, and did I say beaurocracy hassle that goes along with it hasn't paid off for us. Its cool to produce officially licensed stuff, but unless you really dedicate yourself to that market and go all in then its likely to be a waste of resources.

agree!  We more than likely will be dropping ours.