UGA College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences
UGA College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences

UGA CAES BRAND GUIDELINES

Merchandise Ordering Guide

Trademark Approval

All promotional products must be approved by the UGA Office of Trademarks and Licensing. Use of University trademarks on products, apparel, merchandise, and paid advertising materials, whether for internal or external use, is subject to the compliance and approval process described in the UGA Trademark policy.

The list below are the only exceptions. These delegated items require only the approval of OMC. Note: Even if central approval is not required, all uses of university trademarks must still comply with the quality standards, brand guidelines, and restrictions outlined in this policy.

  • Catalogs
  • Magazines
  • Annual reports
  • Newsletters
  • Brochures
  • Posters
  • Folders
  • Invitations
  • Cards
  • Event signage
  • Banners
  • Table tents
  • Tablecloths


For approval on the above items, please reach out to Megan McCoy at mamm@uga.edu.

For all other promotional items, please use the following guide.

Trademark approval step-by-step guide

This process is required for every order placed with UGA-trademarked graphics, even reprints.

1. Select a Vendor

Select a licensed vendor from UGA’s approved vendor list that produces the merchandise you need. This list is created and maintained by UGA Trademarks — if you have any questions regarding a specific vendor’s status on this list, please direct them to trademarks@uga.edu. Make sure this vendor makes the items you would like to order.

The following is a shortlist of vendors familiar with CAES that cover a wide range of products.

2. obtain production proofs

Production proofs are images of the items that will be made with the logos mocked up on them. It is critical you receive these from your vendor before moving forward with an order.

3. Fill out an approval form

UGA Trademarks approval form

When requesting the use of an unlicensed vendor, check off the box on the form and then fill out the comments section with the reason your preferred vendor is the optimal production method (example reasons listed next).

Some strong reasons for using an unlicensed vendor request include things like:

  • The local vendor can install or deliver a product for considerably less due to travel or shipping costs
  • A description detailing how the product offered by this vendor is measurably different from equivalent products offered by UGA licensees (or perhaps not offered by licensed vendors at all!) 
  • The local vendor can offer much faster delivery than licensed vendors
  • The local vendor partnered with the event and offers a substantially reduced cost
    We do not recommend using only the justification that a vendor has produced a product in the past. Historically, Trademarks has not considered this reason robust enough on its own. It will likely result in the request being denied.

4. Approval from UGA Trademarks

If a design needs changes to make it brand-compliant, Trademarks will advise how to adjust the design and ask you to re-submit.

Please note: Trademarks communicated that they reserve the right to deny any unlicensed vendor requests. However, as long as the design is brand-compliant and well justified, they are willing to be flexible with our requests. 

For more detailed information, please review the UGA Trademarks policy for details about what images are legally protected by UGA Trademarks ownership. Below is a quick overview of UGA Trademarks policies and regulations.

Protected Images and Words

Academic vs. athletic trademarks

CAES is part of the academic wing of UGA. UGA Athletics owns all rights to the Super G and Athletics Bulldog icons and has chosen to restrict the use of those marks to Athletics only. CAES units do not have permission under any circumstances to use UGA Athletics trademarks, even previously approved marks.

A graphic illustrating the difference between the academic and athletic versions of UGA logos and bulldogs. It is indicated that the athletic versions should not be used.

Some words are protected under UGA copyright

Examples of words, groups of words or letters included and protected by the University and UGA Athletics:

  • University of Georgia ®
  • Georgia®
  • UGA®
  • Bulldog(s)
  • Between The Hedges®
  • How ’Bout Them Dogs®
  • How ’Both Them Dawgs®
  • Go You Silver Britches®
  • University of Georgia Athletic Association®
  • Hairy Dawg™
  • Dawg(s)®
  • Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry
  • Hunker Down™
  • Gym Dogs™

In all instances where the above terms are used, they must be accompanied by the ® or ™ as appropriate.