Louisiana Tech University has partnered with Collegiate Licensing Company’s (CLC) Community Connect to offer a crafter’s license program to benefit the local craftsperson and provide them with an opportunity to use their creativity without infringing on the University’s trademarks. It also allows Louisiana Tech to maintain the integrity of its brand.
This license is ideal for individuals who make items at home or in small quantities to be sold at craft fairs and farmers’ markets with hopes of one day becoming a full retail licensee. The maximum annual sales allowed for the Crafter’s license is the lesser of: 500 items or $2,500 in sales – any sales beyond that amount will require the licensee to apply for a Standard license in order to continue selling branded merchandise. There is no royalty charge for the Crafter’s program, but there is a $175 annual fee that is paid upfront and pro-rated by calendar year. The licensing process can take three weeks. Apply for this license by creating an account and submitting an application on the Community Connect Portal.
Contact CommunityConnect@CLC.com with any questions or difficulties, or reach out to Elena Parker at Licensing@LATech.edu.
Program
The program policies are listed below:
- University Fee – $175 due annually
- Sales Limitations – the lesser of $2,500 in sales or 500 items sold
- Annual Report due each year in January for the previous year’s sales
Items that are unique, handmade, and of an underrepresented category can be approved for licensing in this program.
Categories that are not generally permitted include:
- Apparel
- Headwear
- Drinkware
- Tailgate Games
- Decals
- Digital Downloads
- Consumable items/items used on or in the body
- Regulated electronic devices, including lights
- Other items on a case-by-case basis
Louisiana Tech’s Community License allows for sales to individual consumers only and does not allow for wholesale or third-party vendor/distributor sales. If you are looking to sell wholesale, you need to apply for a retail license at CLC.
An ideal crafter for the Community Connect program is a self-employed individual of great skill in the manual arts who produces items that are all or partly (greater than 50 percent) made by hand or with a hands-on process in the home and selling/distributing to individual consumers via events or direct sale. A craftsperson does not utilize any fully automated processes and generally has no paid employees.
We hope that this program will be used by local entrepreneurs to test the market before entering into a broader retail license with the University through our partnership with CLC. This license is ideal for fans and alumni who are interested in producing small quantities of merchandise.
If you have any questions about the program or need assistance with your application, please contact CommunityConnect@CLC.com. Louisiana Tech’s Division of University Communications has final review and approval on all applications.
NOTE: If you are selling anything that could be branded or cause confusion that it is a co-branded Tech item (even if it does not physically have any logos), it should be licensed or sold by a licensed vendor.