What can we Learn from the UC Trademark Licensing Annual Report?

October 23, 2024

Martin Ludwig, the Associate Vice President, Trademarks & Licensing at the University of Cincinnati, shared the University’s Annual Trademark Licensing Report for FY24 on Linkedin. As we review the data within the report, what can we learn about the state of UC’s trademark licensing program and the collegiate licensing industry as a whole?

Gross Royalties Collected

From a top level, the report points to a 12% decline in gross royalties collected for the year. Note the decline for this current year came from a record set the previous year where a massive $2.23 million in gross royalties was collected.

If we take a look at the historical records of gross royalties collected, royalties collected were pretty consistent from 2014 through 2021, but then came a huge spike groing from 2021 to 2022 where gross royalties surged and the progrm revenue more than doubled. Was this increase from the sudden growth of the university or growth of fan base? Probabaly not, its more likely that the retailers bought huge amounts of inventory in anticipation of sales, or anticipation of not being able to buy goods in the future, possibly due to supply chain fears. That being said, the huge spike in 2021 continued into 2023 and 2024, one wouldn’t think retailers would continue to overstock dramatically for two years, which leaves us curious about the huge elevation in gross royalties collected.

How Does UC Compare to Other Schools?

Another interesting data point included in the report is how UC compares to other schools. UC Sates that their peers were up for the year an average of 5%. Peers of UC are defined as:

  • Minnessota

  • Syracuse

  • Pittsburgh

  • Maryland

  • TCU

  • UCF

  • Conneticut

  • Vanderbilt

  • Georgia Tech

  • Northwestern

UC Sates that their collegiate licensing agency, CLC Licensing, defines UC as #40 of the school’s CLC Licensing serves, which we believe means there are 39 schools ahead of UC in the amount of gross royalties collected. Here’s how the peer schools rank:

  • Minnessota, #44

  • Syracuse, #41

  • Pittsburgh, #48

  • Maryland, #50

  • TCU, #46

  • UCF, #51

  • Conneticut, #30

  • Vanderbilt, #55

  • Georgia Tech, #54

  • Northwestern, #63

In this current year report, UC is ranked higher than all their peers expcept for one, Conneticut.