As we have previously covered in the “Licensing Defined” blog series, intellectual property protection is one of the primary reasons to establish a licensing program. Your brand shapes consumers’ perception of your institution. Therefore, it is vital to manage your brand in the marketplace. We discussed when protection of a trademark begins and how to register your trademarks with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), which offers additional protection to your property. Utilizing an artwork review process helps SMA and its client institutions establish a consistent brand identity in the marketplace.
The idea behind an artwork review process is to regulate trademark usage on all licensed products. The process gives brand managers knowledge of the product, the mark or logo placement and size and even identifies any third-party brands.
Artwork review can come in a variety of formats. Depending on the size of the licensing program, it may be a simple process with licensees emailing or sending each proposed product design to the brand owner for approval. SMA utilizes Approvals on Demand (AOD) for all artwork submissions and review. AOD is a quality control application that allows all licensees to submit designs, in various digital formats, through a web-based approval system. Such a system can allow the licensee to upload a file containing an image of the design and submit it to the brand owner for review. SMA reviews all design submissions to ensure they meet minimum brand standards before sending to the institution for final review. At this point the brand owner can approve the design, mark it for changes that need to be made, or send it back to the licensee for corrections. Once reviewed, the licensee receives a notification of the design’s approval status and may proceed accordingly with the submission, either revising the artwork as requested or producing the order.
SMA Works 