Affiliate Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Additionally, I may get commissions for purchases made through other affiliate links in this post.
Looking to make and sell products related to your favorite sorority or fraternity? Let’s look at licensing information today.
Table of Contents
Do You Need a License to Sell Greek Related Products?
Yes. If you want to make and sell Greek sorority and fraternity products, you will need a license because their properties are trademarked.
How Are Letters Trademarked?
Federal courts have upheld that a combination of letters can be trademarked several times. For example, BMW (the car manufacturer), ABC (the broadcasting network), and IBM (the computer company).
Greek sorority and fraternity names are no different.
What is Trademarked Related to Sororities and Fraternities?
While it will vary for each sorority or fraternity, in general these things are trademarked:
- The sorority or fraternity name
- The sorority or fraternity nickname
- The Greek letters
- Crest
- Badge
- Symbols
- Other insignia
Who Handles Greek Licensing?
Affinity Consultants handles licensing for many of the Greek sororities and fraternities.
Licensing Facts with Affinity Consultants
- Affinity Consultants handles licensing arrangements for more than 100 Greek Organizations.
- An application, applicable fees, and product samples are required to apply for licensing.
- Royalties are required upon the sale of the products; but royalty amounts vary between organizations.
- All product designs must be approved before being produced.
- A $1 million dollar insurance policy is required.
- Anyone that plans to sell Greek themed sorority or fraternity items must be licensed.
- Sorority or Fraternity members must be licensed if they plan to sell items with trademarks on them.
- A full list of Official Vendors is located on Affinity Consultants website.
Since 2015, Christine Schinagl has been helping crafters start and run craft businesses through her blog, Cutting for Business. As a Silhouette and Cricut crafter herself, she has a unique take on what works and what doesn’t work in the craft business world. She also enjoys teaching other crafters how to create digital SVG designs, available through the Design with Me series.